Despite the Odds
by SouthernBella04
Summary: Betty is fighting her slow attraction to Gio after Henry leaves. How could someone who is so annoying be so right at the same time? Sometimes, you never realize what's out there until it's staring you in the face. Takes place after 1,000 Words. Gio/Betty
1. Egg Salad on Rye

_This is my first fan fic piece, so please have patience with me and give me a few reviews!:-)_

"Henry, I promise to stay away from Gio." I reassured him as I kissed him affectionately on the lips.

"Good." Henry's voice had an air of annoyance when I said Gio's name.

"You do realize that now I don't have to force up my lunch by sticking my finger down my throat. I now have a new way to bring up my meals and it's far more entertaining." Amanda sneered at us as she dropped off a file folder and glided away.

"She's just jealous that she doesn't have a hot….sexy…wonderful nerd boyfriend." I cooed.

"Betty…you know I don't like being addressed as nerd." Henry said defensively as he fixed his tie. For some reason, him being uncomfortable was a real turn on.

"It's sexy though…in a Peter Parker kind of way." I leaned in the kiss him again and an idea struck me.

"Hey! We should watch all three _Spiderman _movies." I said as I accidentally head butted him.

"Ow, Betty leave the head butting….ass kicking…to Spidey," Henry said as he rubbed his forehead and frowned. "I have to go." He said suddenly.

"No, Tucson doesn't need you as much as I do…" I began.

"No, Betty, I meant back to the accounting floor…"

"Oh…right…well see you for Sundae and _Spiderman_ movies?"

"You're on…..my little MJ"

"Just as long as I get that famous kiss in the rain."

"Oh you'll get more than a rainy kiss…"

I loved it when he insinuated. "Oh?"

"You'll get spider shaped sprinkles on your sundae." He said as he left.

His words disappointed me somewhat. I was expecting something different than that. I sighed and began working on an assignment for Daniel.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Cristina's Scottish self was staring me in the face.

"What are you talking about Cristina? That was Henry…well…being Henry."

"Well as hot as he used to be…and I mean HAWT…he's getting a wee bit boring…"

"No he's not!" I was defending my boyfriend's honor.

"Oh come on Betty! What happened the last time Henry was a tad bit boring?"

"Well…it was the time I wanted to eat ice cream off his stomach and we saw where that went."

"Or where it didn't…"

"Cristina! We're not like that. Not every couple has to have those ….those moments!"

"Oh really now? Who's idea was it to eat the ice cream off of his stomach?"

"It was G---just for fun." I stopped in time before saying his name.

"Cursed bloody hussy! You were about to say his name weren't you?"

"No"

"You were and you bloody know it!"

She was right. I had to keep my promise to Henry. I hadn't seen Gio in about a week. It was actually a nice relief because he was incredibly annoying. There are different degrees of annoying and he was the degree that got under your skin. It was as if you wanted to see him and then wanted him to immediately go away. Gio was like that puppy that you feed for the first time and he follows you everywhere.

"Fine. Maybe I was…let's just call him…." I tried to think of a good code name.

"Sexy bastard…" Cristina suggested.

"No….not very creative…."

"Alright….how about He Who Must Not Be Named…or You Know Who."

"I like the last one…say Cristina…speaking of that…you wouldn't happen to know…"

"NO! I don't know bloody JK Rowling. I wish people would stop asking me that. Do you know Brad Pitt?" she snapped.

"No…."

"Well just because I used to live in Scotland doesn't mean I know her…"

"Calm down…I was joking…"

"Sorry, I'm a wee bit hormonal…but…well…Stewart is rather turned on by it."

"Nice to hear…" I said grumpily.

I was growing strangely jealous of Cristina's love life. She got to live out all of her fantasies with Stewart. During her lunch break they would spend time in the Fey Sommer's secret room and she would come back happier than ever. I looked over at my pink bunny that seemed to be laughing at me.

"So what kind of bread would you like to have egg salad on?" Cristina joked.

"Ugh…if that was meant to be sexual…"

"'Course it was…now answer the bloody question…"

"White of course…."

"Don't you think that's a tad bit…"

"Boring, I know." I answered for her.

"I would try rye bread." Cristina suggested.

"Oh come on Cristina, everyone knows that rye bread is only good with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and corned beef" I said boasting about my knowledge of sandwiches.

"Now that hot….HOT… HOT… HOT!"

"Ok…there was nothing sexual behind that…"

"Maybe not to you…but you're thinking about sandwiches which means that subconsciously you are thinking about Gi----You Know Who and you want so badly to take his tomato slicing hands and rub mustard and mayonnaise all over your…" I stopped her from going further.

"Don't you have clothes to design?" I asked quickly.

"Oh right…Willy will be mighty pissed…well Betty see you around…but not for lunch" she winked and left me alone.

As I sat alone at my desk, I looked at the desktop of my computer and smiled. I was completely in love with Henry. There was actually a piece of news that he and I shared and no one knew our secret. Of course people would try to talk me out of it. I could picture it now.

_"Betty…what you're doing isn't very smart, hija." My father would warn me._

_"Betty! What the hell are you doing?" Hilda would scold me._

_"Man Aunt Betty, that would be completely scandalous. You might even beat Britney Spears for Most Scandalous Stunt Pulled Award for 2008." Justin would say to me._

I knew all of these things were probably true, minus the Britney Spears comment. I didn't care though. I was in love with Henry and as the Beatles say, "All You Need is Love." We were all prepared. I opened a drawer and saw my one way ticket to Tucson. I was going to move to Arizona with Henry.


	2. The Death of a Sandwich Boy

_Here is the second chapter and it picks off a few days or so after the first chapter._

There was something so amazing about waking up in Henry's arms. It was for this reason that I had every intention of going with him to Tucson. I didn't care that I would be labeled as the "other woman" or that he would be spending time with the baby once he or she was born. I knew how important this baby was to Henry. We both understood what was in store for our future. We had everything all planned out from the lies we would tell to get to Tucson to how we would live together.

"Betty, could you edit this piece for the magazine for me?" Daniel asked as she slapped a three paged document on my desk.

"Sure, no problem Daniel. Do you need me to do anything else?" I knew that editing something that he wrote would take awhile.

"No, but I'll need you to head over to the clothes department and check on a new outfit Cristina has been working on."

"Daniel…remember that I am going to a conference this weekend…" I reminded him. This was the start of one big lie.

"Yeah Betty…where are you going?"

"Atlanta, for a …." I paused trying to think of a plausible conference. "A secretary's conference. It's called 'How to get the most out of your boss'" I realized afterward how dirty that sounded.

"I've already gotten the most out of him." Amanda commented as she passed us. Daniel ignored her.

"Sounds great Betty. Take good notes." He said as he gave his usual 'not interested' thumbs up.

The conference was my outlet. I knew it was a bad lie because conferences only last a weekend. However, I needed a short term excuse and once I got to Tucson I would call or write letters to people. It would be easier that way, or so I kept telling myself. There was only one person I was going to share the truth to.

"You're doing what?" Cristina asked as she looked for a pair of Prada shoes.

"I'm running away with Henry. You're the only one who knows."

"Well I hope you know that Mode has ears. How else do you think I got in this state?" she said as she pointed to her baby bump that was slowly starting to show.

"I've already checked and the coast is clear. I've slowly started to pack some things and they are in the Fey Sommer's room." I nodded to the shoe wall which secretly possessed to ultimate make-out room.

"Betty, are you sure about this? I mean, as I friend I should give my honest opinion, I don't think it wise to just run off with Henry like that."

"Cristina, I love Henry."

"What about when that bloody baby is born?"

"He'll still be with me. He'll see the baby too." Cristina sighed and I knew exactly where this was going. She was trying to talk me out of it.

"Betty, I've had my share of good and bad relationships…trust me…like the one time I went to my school's dance and ended up drinking a wee bit too much punch and…"

"Cristina…focus!"

"Right, well Betty as a friend, it is a very stupid decision. As a fellow romantic, I say you go with Henry and show up that bloody Charlie and tell her that she has no idea what she lost!"

"I'll be leaving in a few days." I told her.

"A few days? Someone is going to be very disappointed that you are leaving."

"I know. Justin will really miss me bringing home free goodies from Mode."

"I wasn't talking about Justin."

I thought for a moment and went down the list of people that I would miss the most. My father was first on the list followed by my sister and Justin. Of course there was Daniel and Cristina. That's about all that I was able to think of.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" I asked her, perplexed.

"…Look at the time. I'm off to lunch with Stewart and I'm not going to the secret room. It's all yours to sort through your things. I promise to keep your secret Betty, but please think about this before you do it." She said the first part rather quickly as though she was trying to change the subject and then left.

I stood there for a few moments feeling slightly bewildered. I honestly wished I could figure out who she was talking about. My mouth began to water slightly and I knew that I was ready for lunch. I had _huevos rancheros_ saved from breakfast and waiting for me. I decided to eat and sort through some of my things.

I made sure no one was looking before I entered the Sommer's Room. All was quiet, which would give my brain time to catch up and think. My heart raced as I ate and thought about the short time before Henry and I would be together.

As I shifted through my shirts, a thought suddenly struck me. I hadn't realized until now who that person Cristina was talking about could be. I could now think of only one person. _Gio_. I felt a feeling in my stomach that wasn't hunger nor was it guilt. I sighed and knew that I had to stay far away from Gio. That was my promise to Henry. Of course I couldn't blame Henry for being jealous of Gio. Gio had a way of always being around and he wanted to be the life of the party. I thought of the time he went out with Hilda and danced with her. I envied her because she was with the guy that called attention to himself. She was with the guy that always had a comeback for a comment and always kept you on your toes. Gio was forever annoying me and in a way I was sort of glad I made a promise to keep away from him.

Still, as I thought about You Know Who, I even began to feel bad. It was nice every once in a while to be challenged by him. If he didn't get under my skin so much, he would even be a decent friend and Henry might actually like him. I believed Henry fully when he told me that the only reason he disliked Gio was because Gio annoyed me and he didn't like that. Even the thought of You Know Who brought the smell of sandwiches to my nose. I suddenly stopped daydreaming and looked around as I heard footsteps.

"Hello?" I said quietly.

There was no answer but I still heard faint footsteps coming closer to me. I got up and looked quickly around for something pointy or sharp in case the person was someone who didn't belong to Mode. The smell of sandwiches got stronger as I saw a shadow coming around the corner. Stupidly, I raised a cane and struck the figure across the head as it approached from the corner. The figure fell to the floor and it took a few seconds for my eyes to get adjusted to the light.

To my horror, I knew exactly who I struck. It was just my luck and ironic at the same time!

"Gio! Oh no…out of all of the people who would come into a secret sex room…here is Gio. Wait…this doesn't surprise me at all!" I spoke to myself over his unconscious body. I began to panic and then realized that I should have known all along why I smelled sandwiches.

"Gio…ok….it's not funny! You are being very annoying right now…being… unconscious and all." I told him, expecting him to respond. Of course he didn't.

As I stood over Gio I really began to freak out. What if I killed him? Poor guy and all he was going to do was deliver sandwiches, but to the sex room? Maybe he was meeting someone here. I immediately felt a surge of feeling in my stomach at the thought of that. I wasn't sure, but I thought is was a feeling of disgust. Then my thoughts swirled back to the figure of Gio who was still not moving.

"Gio! Wake up now!" I said as I poked him continuously.

"Ok…really now…Gio, could you plan any more inconvenient time to get a little action from whoever you are coming in here for?" I asked him not expecting any response.

I was slowly beginning to see the humor in all of this. Well, if you could call it humor.

_Why do these things always happen to me_, I asked myself.


	3. Wardrobe Malfunction

_So I've done some revising on this chapter because on my first attempt I was extremely tired, but persistent when writing it. I hope you enjoy it.  
_

I could hear my heart beating fast as I tried to decide what the next step should be. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind as I heard a sound.

"Oww…" I looked over and was so thankful that it was Gio.

"Gio! I am so sorry… I had no idea that was you."

"What the hell was that for?" he asked slowly as he sat up looking slightly dazed and confused. He looked at me, waiting for me to answer. I already had my usual acid tone of voice ready to retort back at him.

"I just told you! I thought you were someone else." I snapped.

"Is that anyway to treat your lover? Anyway, if you're waiting on Egg Salad, the wait really isn't worth it." he winked. Clearly, his sense of humor was not harmed after being clobbered on the head.

"This is exactly why I find you annoying! You never know when to stop talking."

"Well I'll take annoying any day. Honestly, I enjoy pissing you off. The look on your face is priceless. How else can I make Egg Salad blow his top?" He asked as he stood up and chuckled.

I sighed and began to pace the room. I had no idea what he was doing here and it angered me. I hated the fact that he got under my skin. He always seemed to be around when Henry wanted him away from me.

"How did you know Eg….Henry asked me not to speak with you?" I asked suddenly.

"I get around…"he paused and smirked. "I mean to say, that I hear things…Besides, it doesn't take a genius to realize when you don't come in and buy your usual sandwich."

"Oh…" I paused and continued hotly. "As nice as it is that you notice when I am not in your sandwich shop, Henry doesn't like the way you treat me and I agree with him!"

"Aww, it's nice to know that you have protection…" he smirked as I cut him off.

"Yes, Henry protects me very well…" I stopped after I figured out his joke. "…and I see that me clobbering you over the head hasn't hindered your comedic abilities Gio."

"You're in a crabby mood. Bad day at the office, honey?" he grinned and I rolled my eyes.

"Feel free to leave whenever you want. You're not needed. As a matter of fact, I am glad that Henry has forbidden me to see or speak with you. I think it's healthy for two people who dislike one another to just…" I tried to finish and turned to leave but Gio cut me off.

'Wait!" he said as he grabbed my arm. A surge of electric shock ran through my arm. I angrily pulled away from his grasp.

"What Gio?" I asked impatiently. He was staring at me, bewildered. His look of bewilderment was suddenly changed into infuriation.

"Fine Mode girl, wish granted…I'm gone. I just brought this sandwich over for you because I hadn't seen you in a while. Cristina told me where I would find you. Perhaps I should have given you a sandwich more appropriate for the age you are acting. How does peanut butter and jelly sound? I hope Henry gives you all the pleasures that this sandwich doesn't." he said angrily as she slapped the sandwich on a table and left abruptly.

I grabbed the sandwich and glared at the direction Gio left from. I wanted to feel angry, but instead I felt guilty. Gio came all the way over here to give me a sandwich. I opened it to find the sandwich exactly how I liked it. I thought of what he called me a moment ago. _Mode girl_. It was his term for me when he was particularly annoyed with me. My thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. It was Gio, backs for seconds.

"Did me clobbering you over the head cause you to forget where the exit is Gio? I can gladly show you!" Inside, I laughed victoriously. Usually he was the one to start the witty banter, but I was ready.

"I just thought you would whine because there were just the right amount of tomatoes, but not enough mayo and I grabbed some for you." He said austerely.

"I have no intentions of eating this sandwich anyway!" I cast the sandwich aside and sat on the bed, folding my arms across my chest. "Leave anytime you would like!" I added triumphantly.

"As nice as that would be, we're experiencing a little wardrobe malfunction" Gio said wryly. It seemed as though he was enjoying a private joke.

"If you're implying that my kitten shirt is out of style…I would just like to inform you that kittens are the in thing to have on a shirt." I replied looking down at my shirt.

"I would gladly leave, but when I said wardrobe malfunction, I meant that we're locked in". He motioned to the door as I gulped. I didn't believe him at all so I thought I would see for myself. I got up and as I passed him, glared in his direction. Five seconds later, I was back.

"You're right." I mumbled bitterly. Immediately I felt the feeling of worry and panic set in. I was stuck in a room with the one person I didn't want to be stuck with. I tried as hard as I could to hide it.

I wandered around trying to stay as far away from Gio as possible. I hated the fact that I was away from Henry and anyone else who would give me advice. Let's face it, there is no such thing as _Getting Locked in a Wardrobe with Annoying People: For Dummies_. My thoughts came back to Henry. What would he do if he found out. I made a promise to Henry and I wasn't about to break it if I didn't have to. I trusted Henry's request for me to not speak with Gio. I continued pacing the room, still flooding my mind with worry and regret. I regretted hitting Gio, but I thought he was an intruder. I grew even more worried that he would tell everyone that we were locked in here together. Egg Salad, I mean...Henry...why am I even calling him that...stupid Gio...would learn that I was in here with him and be upset. I would have to beg and plead and tell him that nothing happened. That was just something that I would have to worry about at another time.

I looked over at Gio who seemed amused with my pacing. He had his normal grin plastered on my forehead. It was that grin he always gave me when either I babbled on too much or something I said or did amused him. I thought I might as well break the ice.

"So you haven't spoken to my sister in a while…" I finally said, breaking the awkward silence. If there was one thing I didn't like, it was feeling awkward. Henry would just have to accept it.

"There's another woman." He admitted honestly. He spoke no more.

"See this is the issue with you. It's like you dangle women around and leave them hanging."

"Hilda understands more than you give her credit for." He answered ruefully.

"Whatever…I shouldn't even be speaking with you!" I rotated around the room again, trying my hardest to ignore him.

Silence ensued for a few more moments before an idea struck me. I pulled out my cell phone. "HA!" I proclaimed loudly. "I can call Henry!" I made sure Gio could hear me as I dialed. "Henry! You will never believe where I am. I am sitting in the secret sex room…" I blushed as he spoke on the phone. "…no Henry…I don't mean for you to come…well and do that…anyway…" I caught Gio grin from the corner of my eye. "I am trapped….the door got jammed and I am with….Amanda…please come rescue me." I lied to him completely. When he finally agreed I smiled, "That is exactly why I love you Henry" I said right before hanging up. I turned to face Gio and smile at him, but his normal sarcastic expression was changed to a hurt one.

As I looked over at Gio, I felt a flood of guilt. It really wasn't in my nature to be as cruel with Gio as I was being right now. I had no idea what was coming over me.

"Look Gio…" I began. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I was a little short with you." I apologized.

"You are apologizing to me so I'll lie for you" he said abruptly. That was not the response I was looking for. His expression was no longer rueful, it was now angry.

"Gio, that's not true. I really do feel…" I tried to complete my sentence but Gio was ahead of me.

"Betty, you only talk to me when you need me for something. Usually you try to apologize first."

"That's definitely not true!" I couldn't believe that we weren't able to not argue. "There was the time…" I had to think of a time, but nothing came to mind.

"See Betty, you really do only talk to me when you need something...the first time we met you needed my van for an errand Daniel sent you on….when you got those _Wicked_ tickets…and getting those pipes in your house fixed. You only contact me when you need me. Plain and simple." He waited for my response.

"What does that have to do with me apologizing to you? Gio, you know…you are one stubborn…nevermind." I changed the subject. "The first time we met you got angry with me because I wanted an extra tomato on my sandwich…you humiliated me in front of my co-workers…" I was on a role, "..and…with Henry…he knew what he was doing. He comes to fix my pipes all the time." I rolled my eyes as Gio chuckled.

"You know how I meant that!" I shot at him. Gio was causing me to be exceptionally fiery today.

I shuddered as Gio came close to me. He was within a foot of me and the feeling of electricity was already brewing. "Mode girl, tomatoes don't come cheap….How would you react if some irritable person comes up to complain about a stupid diminutive sun ripened…dried….whatever the hell type of tomato you wanted on that sandwich?" He smiled, as if enjoying the moment and continued, "Now onto the subject of Henry…your valiant and courageous Henry…I ended up cleaning the mess he made with those pipes…Betty, Henry doesn't…" at that moment I heard the door open and I turned away from Gio, hiding my flustered face. I slowly turned back and he was gone.

"Betty?" Henry's distant voice called. He called for me again and his voice was clearer. I saw him and smiled because he gave me that look and smile I loved.

"What's wrong, you look flustered!" he said worriedly as he pulled me close to him.

"I've been locked in this wardrobe, that's why." I lied and kissed Henry. After a few moments, we withdrew and Henry looked around.

"Where's Amanda?" he asked.

"Oh, she probably just slipped out. You know how much she hates it when we're together like this."

"Right, she is just jealous because she doesn't get a turn on the Grubstick." He chuckled and grabbed my hand.

"Henry, please!" People were sure on a role these jokes today, I thought to myself. "Anyway, let's go." I said as I blushed at his joke.

"Pretty soon you and I will be far away from everything." We stopped by the door.

"Tucson is only a few days away and I can't wait to go with you." I added carelessly as he led me through the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, in one of the many closets in Fey Sommer's Secret Room, Gio stepped out from his hiding place. He emerged completely defeated and torn apart. He had always had this feeling when the girl he wanted chose someone else, more so with this particular one.

"So, she's leaving..." he muttered to himself as he saw the pile of shirts that belonged to Betty.

He was never one to give up on something he wanted, but somethings that are so amazing and you want so badly, you just can't have. Gio sadly made his way through the Mode office. He caught sight of Amanda who called out his name and made her usual pickle joke. He didn't care; he trudged through the remainder of the office and into the elevator. He knew he had lost the battle he was so willing to keep fighting. As much as he believed in the saying,_ you can lose the battle and still win the war_, he knew that this worth while war had ended. Only one thing was killed during the war, his heart.


	4. Green for Good

Friday quickly approached as Betty became more and more nervous. Two days had passed since she was locked in with Gio and she hadn't seen him since. As worried as she was that Henry would find out and be angry with her, she didn't lose too much sleep over it. In just a few hours, she would be in the air and on her way to Tucson.

"Betty, you have to go out and have fun at least one of the nights you're in Atlanta." Hilda told her sister, as she fixed Betty's hair.

"Come on Hilda, it's a Secretary's Conference. It will be as unexciting as dad on a diet." Betty reassured her sister.

"I heard that mija! I'll have you know that your papi hasn't been on a diet in a while." Ignacio called from the kitchen.

It was morning and the Suarez house was busy, as usual. Justin was getting ready for high school while Hilda had a few customers to attend to at her at home salon. Ignacio had the day set out for him, trying new recipes. As for Betty, she had different plans in mind. She was about to run away with the one person she was truly in love with. Her family would be disappointed that she would be making a stupid decision, which was why she decided to keep her true destination a secret.

"Mom, Ella Stone said that I won't get the part in our school's adaptation of _Wicked_!" Justin complained as he sipped some orange juice.

"Justin, you tell that brainless blonde that there's nothing my little baby can't do." Hilda grabbed Justin's cheeks as she said that.

"Ma, please! Besides, if she thinks I can't get the part of Fiyero, then she is totally wrong."

"Justin, _Wicked_ is a fairly large type of production. How are you able to get funding?" Betty asked over her huevos rancheros.

"Come on Aunt Betty, we live in basically the ghetto. People always feel sorry for us."

"Justin, we don't live in the ghetto." Ignacio sighed.

"Pretty close though grandpop. Just last week someone tried to highjack three cars." Justin replied.

"Anyway guys, as nice as our conversation is, I need to head into work for a few hours before my flight." Betty gulped the last of her orange juice and grabbed some of her belongings.

"Betty, look at that suitcase. It looks like you're going for a week!" Hilda eyed her sister suspiciously.

"Eh, well you can never be too sure." Betty lied. This suitcase was just the beginning of things she planned on taking to Tucson. She got closer to the door and turned around, looking at her family.

"Well goodbye guys." She said sadly. This was the last time she would see her family for awhile and she was fighting back tears.

"We'll see you back on Monday Betty don't tear up on us!" Ignacio said as he hugged his daughter.

"Yeah." Betty said uncomfortably. She took one last look at her family and went through the front door. She smiled at the person waiting for her in the car.

"Hello Princess!" Henry greeted her with a grin as he helped her with her bags.

"Today's the big day." Betty said nervously.

"Well, I'll drop you off at Mode for awhile and then…well…is there anyway you can catch a cab to JFK?" Henry asked absentmindedly.

"Sure, no problem. I'll just let Daniel know that I'll need a car to take me."

"I hope you brought warm weather clothes Betty, because Tucson is always hot. Just picture us now Betty…" Henry drifted off and began talking nonstop about Tucson. Betty tuned in and out as Henry continued to talk about Tucson. Honestly, she was worried about her family.

"Ah, here we are…Mode." Henry pulled up in front of the Meade Publications building as he let me out.

"Thanks Henry." she said as she got my things out of the trunk.

"I've got to run some errands, but I'll see you at the airport." Henry reassured her as he kissed her passionately on the lips. It nearly took her breath away.

"See you." She said with a confident smile as he drove off.

It took Betty what felt like an eternity to reach her desk. To her surprise, she saw a green box sitting on her desk. She smiled and immediately knew that it was Henry's gift. She set it aside and decided she would open it later. For now, she had work to get done.

"I still can't believe you're leaving. What am I going to do here without you?" Cristina asked sadly.

"Oh Cristina, there is plenty of drama going on here for both of us to handle."

"Yes, but…who will I have to bitch to now that you won't be here?"

"Um…Daniel?" Betty laughed.

"Daniel, as in your boss? I think I would have better luck with Amanda."

"Anywho Betty, I need to get back to work. Write to me love." Cristina said as she hugged her and left quickly.

"What's up with Cristina?" Daniel asked as he sat on the edge of my desk.

"She's just sad that I'm going on that conference this weekend." Betty said as she began to fidget with Henry's box.

"Well have a good time. Spend at least one night…" Daniel began, but Betty was quick to jump to the punch.

"… having fun. Yeah, Hilda told me." She said, completing his sentence.

"Hilda knows more than she lets on you know. Well, I have a meeting right now with Alexis about our next cover. I'll see you bright and early Monday morning." Daniel smiled at Betty as he walked away.

It hurt her to lie to people. She never really lied very much until she worked at Mode. Work always brings out the true colors of people. Her attention immediately went back to the green box. Curiosity got the better of her as she pulled the box closer to her. "Hello pretty box!" she greeted the box aloud. She had no idea why she was being secretive, but it felt good. She slowly opened the box and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Everyone deserves the chance to fly." Betty read from the paper. She looked around the office to make sure that Henry wasn't watching her open his present. She was completely positive that he sent this package.

Inside, however, there was something else. The item was wrapped in tissue as Betty slowly began to unravel it. Excitement flooded her mind as she wondered what mysterious item would be in the tissue paper. Inside she found a shirt that read "Green for Good."

"Aww, Henry." She smiled as she put the shirt on over her clothes. Henry called her Green Girl after the main character. This was exactly why she loved Henry.

Betty sat unproductively at her desk for the next hour. Her mind kept wandering to Henry and sometimes even Gio. Someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind and as she swung around she accidentally hit someone in the face.

"Hi, Gio! Sorry…didn't mean to hit you again." Betty subconsciously blushed as she said that.

"Well, I just thought I would give you a sandwich, compliments of the house and…" he stopped and looked at my shirt and chuckled. "Nice shirt." He grinned.

"What's wrong with this shirt? You know how much I like _Wicked_. So if you're about to make fun of it…" Gio cut her off.

"No, that's not the reason." He stopped laughing and handed Betty her sandwich.

"Well, uh…thanks Gio." He paused before continuing. "About the other day…I'm really sorry. I hate that we fought."

"That's why I brought you the sandwich. I came to apologize too." Gio said, still stealing a glance at the shirt from time to time. He then took a seat on the edge of her desk.

"So what's up?" Betty asked. In the back of her mind, she knew that if she continued conversation with Gio, it might upset Henry, but she would be gone in a few hours.

"The same old stuff. Egg Salad is the top seller of the week." Gio said with a smile.

"Oh, well…congratulations."

"So what are you up to this weekend?" Gio asked, even though he knew her plans.

"Secretary's Conference…" Betty broke off and began to fidget with the green box again.

Gio sighed. "Look Betty, I'm not going to deny it anymore. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now." Gio paused and watched Betty.

Something inside of Betty made her heart jump, but she pretended that nothing was wrong.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I know where you're really going. I wasn't eavesdropping or anything." Gio said. He didn't want to say exactly what he meant to tell her, so he used this excuse.

"How did you find out?" Betty asked cautiously.

"I was hiding like you told me to" Gio insisted.

"Look, I know what you're probably thinking…" Betty began, but Gio was too quick.

"That it's a really stupid decision. Well yeah, it is Betty." Gio assured her.

"Look Gio, perhaps you should just leave, please." Betty begged.

Gio looked as though he was going to say something, but stopped. He silently set the sandwich on the table and turned to leave. He hesitated and turned one last time, motioning to the box.

"Henry's a fool Betty." Gio said quietly and then left through the elevator.

Immediately Betty's blood began to boil as she ripped through the sandwich with her teeth. He had already managed to annoy her in less than a minute. She looked at the clock as she was finishing her sandwich. It was time to go. She had emailed Daniel about a car, which would be arriving at 11 in the morning. It was nearly time as Betty collected her things that were at her desk and then went to where her other clothes were in hiding. With the help of Cristina, she had all of her things packed in the car.

"I'll miss you…" Betty said as she squeezed Cristina in a tight hug.

"Come back when I have this Devil's spawn!" Cristina said sadly.

"Sure thing." Betty said as she climbed into the car and left. The drive to the airport wasn't too bad. The butterflies in her stomach outweighed any other feeling she had. She thanked the driver as he spun off.

Patiently, Betty waited for Henry to show up in their meeting spot. She was growing more excited with every passing moment. This was her chance to have a happy ending with Henry. She kept looking at her watch and suddenly began to grow nervous. He was late.

"Excuse me, you haven't seen a scrawny math nerdy looking guy around, have you?" Betty asked a security guard that was eyeing her suspiciously.

"No ma'am, I haven't. Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

"No, I'm just waiting on my boyfriend. We're running off to Tucson. He got another girl pregnant." She said, already giving away too much information. The security guard wandered off and Betty looked at her watch. He was now 20 minutes late. Suddenly her pocket vibrated and she pulled out her phone. She had a text message:

_Betty,_

_I'm in Tucson now. Had to go without you. Can't explain now. Will call. Sorry I had to do it this way. Henry_

Betty looked around hoping that this wasn't some sort of joke. How could he have done this to her?


	5. Hugs and Emus

_This is back to Betty's POV. I know…I have a habit of flip-flopping!_

I shuddered as I sat in the same spot I inhabited for the last few hours. The electronic sliding doors kept bringing in the cool air. Maybe the cool air was from the pain I felt knowing what Henry just did. He betrayed me. He led me to believe that we had a future together. I couldn't bring myself to cry, because the feeling I felt was beyond crying mode. Instead, I picked up my belongings and looked at my watch. I had been sitting in the same exact spot for five hours. Of course, I could have made that flight to Tucson and surprised him, but the biggest part of me didn't want that.

"Are you alright Ma'am?" the same security guard was back and he looked concerned. I completely ignored him as I made my way through the sliding doors.

I raised my hand in the air for a taxi and slid into the back of the first one to stop. I blocked out all sounds from the world and forgot to even tell the cab driver where to take me. Suddenly I remembered and said "Queens".

"Could you be more specific doll face?" the cab driver asked.

"I don't care where, just anywhere." I muttered and then slipped into silence. A Justin Timberlake song was playing on the radio followed by Fergie's _Big Girls Don't Cry_. How ironic, I thought to myself.

"Here we are." The cab driver pulled up to a fairly familiar part of town. I didn't realize how much time had passed as I sat in silence. I thanked and tipped him and collected my things as he drove off.

Although I was only a few blocks from home, I wanted to spend the next million years getting there. It didn't help that all of my belongings were heavy. After what felt like hours, I stopped in front of my house.

"Ay! Papi, por favor! Just let me finish watching the rest of this soap!" Hilda pleaded. Henry was right; I did have a loud family that could be heard outside of the house. The thought of Henry pained me and I approached the door and opened it.

"Betty? What are you doing back so soon, hija?" dad asked as he took notice of me entering the front door.

"Betty, you look like crap. If I were going to a Secretary's Conference, I would choose that look too!" Hilda commented as dad smacked her with a towel. "What papi, it's true!"

"Betty…what's wrong?" my dad was now worried.

"He's gone." I simply replied as I left my luggage and went straight to my bedroom. I immediately saw three pictures of Henry and I immediately placed them face down.

I plopped down on my bed, still taking in the event of the day. I quickly checked my phone, which was on silence, to see if he called, but he didn't. I heard a knock at the door, but I didn't respond.

"Betty, you can't hide from me!" Hilda said right before she barged in. She took one look at me and understood. "Secretary's Conference was a lame ass excuse to run away with Henry. Let me guess…plans didn't go well?" Hilda rubbed my back.

"I was going to meet him at JFK and we were going to go to Tucson together…he broke up with me through text message." I felt like crying, but I couldn't bring myself to tears.

"You know what hermana?! You and I are going to hit the bars of New York tonight!" Hilda said as she propped me up.

"Hilda…" I protested. Obviously, she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"First of all, we need to get you fixed up. Second of all, we need to get some food. Drinking on an empty stomach is no good. Trust me…I remember this one time back in high school…"

"Hilda…stop. Fine…I'll go!" I replied as I looked at her and hugged her. She always had a way of making someone feel better.

"Before we go, I want to see a smile on your face and an attitude that says 'Henry Who?'"

"Hilda…I can't smile…not now…" I began, but Hilda already had an answer for me.

"What about that website…the dumb kitten website you go to?" she suggested. It didn't make me smile.

I suddenly thought of one time that made me smile. Surprisingly, it wasn't with Henry. I remembered being in a van with Gio right after I had gotten him fired. He was trying to sing a Toni Braxton song, but was doing it terribly. Suddenly, I smiled.

"See…I knew the kittens would do it for you…alright…let's get you ready!" Hilda pushed me out of my room. In a few hours we were ready to go.

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked her. Truthfully, I was already feeling slightly better. It really wasn't the thought of Gio that allowed me to put on my smile for the night. It was really the fact that Hilda didn't judge me for doing something stupid.

"Hmm…well I know what I'm in the mood for, but you probably wouldn't be up for it…" Hilda broke off. I knew exactly where she wanted to go.

"Gio's." I responded and frowned.

"It's alright, we can go someplace else. I just like the cute way he makes his sandwiches."

"No, it's fine. He probably won't be in there anyway. It's Friday night, so he's probably got some hot date lined up. After all, he did get six numbers using the Phil Roth method."

"Are you sure?" Hilda asked.

"It's fine…really. We're right in front of his shop anyway."

"Hilda…Betty?" I didn't need to turn around to see who the voice belonged to. It was Gio. After turning around, I confirmed it.

"Hi Gio, Betty and I thought we would order from your sandwich place before hitting the bars." Hilda said as Gio gave me a quizzical look. He knew where I should have been now, but didn't question me.

"Yeah, come right in. Whatever you want…on the house." He said as he opened the door for us. Hilda and I found a small table and placed our orders.

Hilda and I sat for a while in silence. I didn't really know what kind of small talk to start with, but tonight I was alright with silence. An idea suddenly struck me. I looked into my purse and saw that I had a Mode credit card. I began to want to feel reckless. This one night I wanted to spend living it up with my sister. I flashed the credit card in front of my sister.

"Sky's the limit tonight." I said slyly. I admit, it was completely out of character for me to suddenly act this way, but I didn't care. I needed a spontaneous night. Gio looked at me curiously as he placed a few sandwiches on our table.

"Can I talk to you for a sec Betty?" He asked. I looked over at Hilda for an explanation, but she had none.

"Sure…" I said as I walked over into a corner of the shop with Gio.

"Is everything alright? I thought you were supposed to be in Tucson with Eggy." Gio didn't look worried; he just looked as though he missed a step.

"I'm not supposed to leave until tomorrow." I lied. "Henry went down early to get our apartment ready and all the finances worked out."

"Oh" Gio said, sounding hurt. "Well, in that case, you should live up your last night in New York." Gio paused and continued. "I was interested in that green box on your desk…"

"Oh…that…it was a present from Henry. You know how much he and I like _Wicked_." I said as I smiled at Gio. The look on Gio's face was something I wasn't expecting.

"Yeah, I should have known you would guess he gave that to you…" he sounded defeated. This was the first time I ever stopped to look at Gio's facial expressions in the past week. He was always excited to be around me, the usual friend way, but lately he looked as though he was always losing something or someone.

"Yeah…Henry's always thoughtful like that. Um…look Gio…I really need to get back to my sister." I paused and thought about how to end the conversation. I decided to go with a small, innocent hug.

I pulled in quickly and hugged him. It was the oddest hug I've ever had with him. It was close to the one we shared when we celebrated Claire's freedom, but this one was somewhat different. Maybe it was because I was the one initiating it. After all, the last one he just opened up his arms making me feel obligated to hug him.

"Oh…ok…Gio…I need to go now." He hugged me particularly tightly at that moment, but let go at my request.

"Betty, thanks for stopping by. If Tucson's too hot for you…" Gio didn't finish his sentence, but I saw all that I wanted to know in his eyes. I saw hurt and defeat, definitely a change to his witty comments he always threw at me. It made me wonder why he was so depressed and down lately. I shrugged and joined Hilda.

"Interesting interaction over there Betty…" Hilda commented as she finished her sandwich.

"Hilda, let's just go." I said hurriedly as I inhaled my sandwich and grabbed her by the hand.

"Ay, Betty, watch out for my manicure chica!" Hilda complained as we stepped out of the shop.

"I don't think I want to go in there again. I don't like the way he acts. He's always so sad and has this puppy dog look of defeat." I whined.

"I wonder why…." Hilda said softly with a hint of sarcasm. "Besides…you should really give the guy a break…considering…"

"Considering what Hilda?" I was curious now.

"…Considering the fact that if we don't hit the bars soon, all that will be left are those creepy guys who carry on conversations with our boobs." Hilda said quickly as she changed the subject. I knew how to get the truth out of her, and it would take a few shots of tequila for that to happen.

Hours later, we sat at _Luna Loca_ and Hilda already had much to drink. She was telling a couple next to us all about our life story as kids and how I would run around naked in the front yard. I didn't blush tonight though. I had too many drinks in me to blush. Suddenly I remembered Hilda's comment about Gio.

"HILDA?!" I yelled her name over the loud music, even though she was right next to me.

"YEAH?" she yelled back.

I edged closer to her so I wouldn't have to talk as loud. "What's wrong with Gio? You were going to tell me, but you changed the subject!" I asked assertively.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked downing a rum and coke.

"He's my friend Hilda" I was being persistent.

"Fine. You won't leave me alone until I tell you." Hilda sighed. "He has a crush on you. By now, he's practically in love with you." The music had gotten turned up so I barely understood what she said.

"What? Gio has a crush on an emu and he's practically in love with an emu?" I felt like I was playing telephone all over again.

I wasn't able to comprehend what she was saying. She tried to explain what she really said, but the drinks had finally gotten to me. I passed out into darkness.


	6. Implies and Denies

_Voila! Here's another chapter up quicker than I thought, mainly because I was bored and finished earlier than I thought I would._

I woke up hours later with the worst headache I ever had. My eyes were slowly getting adjusted to the surroundings. Everything was spinning, and gradually came to a stop. As I looked around, I realized that my glasses were not on. I tried to feel around my surroundings and hit someone next to me. "Ow!" the person replied. I wasn't used to feeling someone when I was searching for my glasses. Finally, I found them and placed them on my head. The room suddenly came into view. It took me a second to realize I had no idea where I was. I fell out of the bed out of fear of not knowing where I was.

"Oww…" I groaned. If my head was killing me before, it was definitely killing me now.

"Brace face, you've been out for hours." A face full of long hair was staring down at me as I lay on the floor, as I was still trying to figure out where I was.

"Wha….where am I?" I was now beginning to panic. I couldn't remember a thing that happened last night or yesterday for that manner.

"I thought you died." The full head of hair spoke to me and then suddenly disappeared.

I tried to get up, but my legs couldn't move out of shock and panic. My head was spinning and I heard a voice from the bed groan and then yawn. The spread and blankets began to move. I knew where this was heading. Suddenly, bits and pieces of yesterday flashed into my mind. Henry. Airport. Hilda. Gio's shop. Bars. Emus. Blackout. I panicked as the stranger in the bed was inching closer to me, or so I saw from up above.

"You…stay…stay away from me. I know people…" I immediately tried to make myself feel tough.

"Good morning, honey!" the voice was closer. I knew who it belonged to and in a second, I recognized the face it belonged to. It was the most annoying voice in the world. Gio. GIO! Immediately I began to panic. I couldn't believe this was happening and at that same time, I tried to sit up, but my head felt like a ton of bricks and I fell back down. Gio jumped from the bed fully clothed, thank goodness, and knelt beside me.

"No…we didn't…?" I motioned up at the bed as Gio propped me up.

"Of course we did!" he smiled slyly. I immediately edged far away from him. He crossed his arms and looked over at me.

"Look, Gio whatever happened last night, I had a lot of tequila and a few Irish car bombs…"

"Quack!" he replied. His stupid grin was still plastered on his stupid face. Evidently I was making excuses.

"Don't start that up again. It wasn't very cute!" I said, feeling very annoyed with him and myself, I stood up and instantly began to fall back down. Gio ran over to catch me.

"Did I treat you gently last night?" he grinned widely as she said that.

"EWW…We did not…" I protested.

"Oh but we did. Don't worry, I was very passionate. I know how to treat a woman when I hold her close to me. Ah, the throws of love! Don't you remember our night together?" he asked.

"No, because it didn't happen!" I answered promptly.

"Denial mi amor….denial. According to reliable sources, you were seen with lots of drinks and had one too many….ah…what's the name of those drinks?..." Gio was lost in thought as he held his index finger in the air, trying to think.

"Shut up, I may have blacked out…but…" just then my stomach grumbled embarrassingly.

"There, there sleeping beauty, let's get you some breakfast. I know just the hangover remedy." Gio said, as he guided me to his breakfast table and sat me down. I held my heavy head in my hands and waited for some sort of explanation.

"So how was it last night compared to Egg Salad?" Gio asked as he winked. I hated it when he implied all of his little innuendos. In a way, some of his little sick jokes were slightly amusing. To someone who had a head weighing like a bowling ball, he was not being clever.

"Yeah, you were completely gentle, the entire night." I said sarcastically.

"Ah, so I am a gentle lover. That's good to know…" he smiled. I noticed for the first time that his eyes had a tiny sparkle to them and that they were dark and mesmerizing.

"How did we end up….?" I tried to ask him a full question, but couldn't find the words. I was still shocked that I potentially did something like this with Giovanni Mr. Annoying Quack Sandwich Guy Rossi.

"Ay, Betty…he's just pulling your leg. Here drink this…" Hilda's voice came out of nowhere as she sat down next to me and placed the familiar hangover drink in front of me.

"What….so….wait…did you guys…?" I asked suddenly. It was strange, but I could have sworn I felt a jolt of jealousy.

"No, of course not." Gio answered more quickly than I expected.

I chugged the drink as quickly as possible. As nasty as the mixture was, it actually helped. We sat in silence for a good five minutes before I asked someone to explain.

"Right after you blacked out Betty, I had to call someone. I didn't want to call papi and so I thought of Gio." She motioned toward Gio, who had momentarily left the table and gone into another room. "Gio was very worried about you Betty. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone about Henry." Hilda promised me.

"So nothing happened last night between me and Gio?" I asked, trying to confirm what my brain wanted me to confirm.

"Betty, nothing happened between you and Gio. You know, you really should give the guy some slack. After all, he raced over to the bar to help us out. I've never seen someone more concerned." She said.

"He did?" I asked dumbfounded. "Um, Hilda….can we go ahead and go please?" I begged, feeling uncomfortable.

"Sure, Gio volunteered to drive us home anyway." Hilda left and returned in a manner of a few minutes. "He'll be ready in five minutes." Hilda informed me. At that moment Gio's sister Antonella wandered into the kitchen with a contemplative expression planted on her face. It took me a second to realize she was the full head of hair staring down at me earlier.

Gio drove us back in his white van. I was sandwiched, ironic enough to say, in between Gio and my sister. Gio had the radio on and was singing along to _My Heart Will Go On_ followed by _I Will Always Love You_. I couldn't help but make a face because he wasn't the world's best singer. It reminded me of the time we went out to New Jersey to get Daniel's special wheelchair. The van lurched to a stop and he got out and hurried over to open the door for us and help us out.

"I'm fine, thanks Gio…" I said as I declined his hand. It was a mistake as I stumbled out of his van. Gio caught me.

"Woa Mode girl! Be careful, you know what they say about girls that can't hold their alcohol…" he implied.

"What Gio?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Besides, I've already held it."

Hilda snatched me by the arm before I had the chance to hear Gio's response. I glowered at him for no particular reason as Hilda dragged me by the arm and up the stairs, back to our house. I noticed a sad expression planted on Gio's face as he saw us leave. He must have remembered that I told him I would be leaving with Henry today so he was about to lose a friend. It wasn't a complete lie. I would have been with Henry now, if he hadn't left me stranded in the airport. As far as Gio knew, this was the last time I would see him. A feeling in side of me felt a little down because of it. We entered the house and shut the door. I looked out through the window and Gio was still looking at the house, like he was missing out on the one thing he wanted more than ever. I knew he wanted Hilda, but for some reason never went on a second date.

"Papi, we're home!" Hilda called.

"Long night?" dad asked as he came from upstairs and greeted us both with a kiss on the forehead.

"I guess you could call it that." Hilda replied as she headed upstairs.

"How are you feeling today, Betty? Honestly…" my dad asked me with a worried expression on his face.

"I'm dealing, dad. It's hard, but I'm dealing. I needed a night out last night. I'll be alright." I mumbled as I wandered upstairs and into my room. Dad had moved my entire luggage and unpacked for me.

It was still surprising to me that I didn't get the lecture I normally got when I did something disappointing. I figured that they supported me because I had already learned my lesson the hard way with Henry leaving me, so this was punishment enough. As I began to think about Henry, I could feel my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. I hated suffering this way, but in due time it would most likely pass. I looked over at the turned down pictures of Henry, but they had disappeared. Once again, I knew my father had come in and taken care of them.

Just then, my phone rang. I checked the caller ID, but it was unknown. I decided to pick up anyway. "Hello?" I answered.

"Betty, it's me." My heart skipped a beat to hear Henry's voice on the other line. I wanted to believe that he was calling to say he had made a mistake and that he was actually outside after all, waiting for me to come out and see him.

"Oh, hi Henry." I answered as upbeat as I could.

"How are you?" he had the nerve to even ask. I wanted to yell at him for doing what he did to me, yet at the same time I couldn't bring myself to do anything like that. So I lied.

"I'm doing fine." I hesitated before asking, "…and you?"

"I'm doing fine." He answered robotically. "I just went with Charlie to get another ultrasound. It's amazing to see the cute little fingers and to see life that I helped to create." Henry spoke excitedly when he discussed his baby. It pained me to hear him sound so cheerful.

There was a long awkward pause.

"Betty…I want you to understand why I had to leave you the way I did. You see, it pained me to think that I would have to drag you away from your family. I thought about how our life would be and then I saw the baby come into the picture. Soon after we'd be settled into Tucson, I would be spending as much time as I could with the baby and not a lot with you. Betty, I couldn't do that to you." He sighed. "Then, I had to think of a way to break up with you to cause you enough pain that you would hate me. It killed me to lie to you and tell you I had errands to run before meeting you at the airport. It killed me even more to type that text message to you. My fingers held so much weight as I typed each letter and word. Betty, I still love you…more than you could ever know." He protested over the phone.

"Henry, please…just…stop…how can you tell me that you love me like this? You've just murdered my heart and my emotions. Henry, I'm still in love with you too, but how can I forgive you at this point?" I was fighting back tears at this point.

"Betty…I'm not asking you to forgive me…just to understand" he said soothingly.

"Understand?" I shot angrily at him. "How can you expect me to understand and accept what you did to me? See, you don't realize how badly you hurt me. It's going to take me a long time before I can trust and forgive you and even understand what you did Henry." I was now crying. It was the first time I remembered crying in years. I was usually a fairly strong person, my mother taught me to be strong and never take no for an answer and thus far, I lived up to her expectations.

"I realize that you may not forgive me now or even trust me….but maybe one day you will…and then we can see each other again…like old times." Henry pleaded. As much as I wanted it too, I knew there were never going to be "old times" again.

I sighed. "No Henry, you have no idea how it feels. There were a million different ways to end it, and you ended it by completely ditching me. Please, leave me alone so I can grieve." I said sadly. The receiver was now sweating and my glasses were fogged up from my tears.

"Betty, I'm sorry." Henry apologized over and over. Suddenly, he had a change in tone, "Now that I'm gone…I guess you can move on. Well, now Gio will get his dream come true."

"How dare you bring Gio into this!" I said loudly and angrily.

"Why shouldn't I be able to? Now that I'm gone, you're free to see whoever you wish. It's just what he wanted…and what you wanted." Henry complained bitterly.

"Ewww…No, I told you I never saw him like that!" I protested heatedly. The thought annoyed me.

"Betty, it's obvious that Gio has feelings for you! Why can't you see that? Everyone else can see….EVERYONE. He's into you Betty, as much as it kills me to admit it, he is." Henry began to get choked up. Suddenly I heard a female's soothing and seductive voice, from what I gathered, calling to Henry. "I've got to go. Bye Betty." Henry hung up quickly.

For awhile I sat on my bed hugging my knees close to my chest. I was in pain and Henry calling, made it a million times worse. I hung onto every word we spoke during our phone conversation in my mind. The name "Gio" stung deeply. It was then, that the realization of Gio finally hit me. Not until this point did I even stop to think about that. It was the one feeling I was always brushing off my shoulder. It was painted over by the emotion of annoyance whenever I saw him. For the next hour, I sat in the same position pondering this new thought of emotion toward Gio.


	7. The Defeat of Italian Sub

The rain fell hard against the roof as I sat in my apartment. I had just taken my sister to a movie. Dust had just fallen as I turned on the TV. Of course, the presidential election was the most important thing on television. It was a race against the democrats, and mainly Barack and Hillary at this point. I immediately switched channels, tired of the ongoing feud between the two. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and I placed my beer next to the recliner.

"Yeah?" I asked, as I peeked through the peep hole. My heart skipped a beat as I saw my visitor.

"Gio?! Open up right now, we need to talk" came the voice of Betty Suarez.

"Look who's being very commanding!" I greeted her with a smile as I opened the door. "How can I help you?" I asked, suddenly feeling confident.

"I came here to tell you to stop calling Henry Egg Salad!" she commanded. Her face was flushed as I let her inside.

"You came all the way just to tell me that? Wait…I thought you and Egg Salad were in Tucson together awaiting the arrival of Charlie's baby." I added, wondering where this confrontation was going.

Betty frowned. "You know what your problem is Gio? You have a smiling pickle as your sandwich shop's mascot." Betty said, completely out of the blue.

"…and you came to tell me because...?" I wondered where this was going. I had to admit that she was amusing me.

"Alright…first of all…don't call him Egg Salad….second of all…you have a pickle as your mascot!" she pointed a finger in my face. Immediately I began to grow defensive.

"What does any of that have to do with why you're here? I call Henry Egg Salad because he's boring…well in my mind anyway….evidently he seems to please you in many ways…of course…you know why I call him Egg Salad. Second of all, I find smiling pickles to be very helpful by means of marketing. I don't know what you have against my pickle!" I proclaimed and then smiled at my own promiscuous joke.

"Eww…Gio…this is exactly why I don't like you. You…Mr. Sandwich pickle guy are always finding a way to make something I say into some kind of sick joke!" Betty was pointing her index finger in my face again.

"…and whose mind is in the gutter? I'm not the one who changes my words into something dirty. Sounds like someone else's mind is not where it should be. Poor Eggy." I smiled at her. Unlike Henry, I never had to look down at her. We were nearly the same height and on the same level of thought.

"Gio, I need to go…" she turned to leave.

"You don't have an umbrella." I said. It wasn't a question or a statement, just a mere thought I muttered aloud.

"Of course I don't have an umbrella! If you'll excuse me, I need to go." She said, speaking loudly over the rain. It was odd, but as she stood there in the rain, which she had just stepped out into, I wanted to grab her and kiss her. There was something about the rain that did it for me.

"Betty…" I begged her to stay, but she wouldn't hear anything of it. "Can I drive you home? It's raining, and the least I could do is give you a ride home." I offered.

She turned to me and looked into my eyes. I realized this was the one and only moment I had. If I had to take my chance with Egg Salad over her shoulder, now was it. There was no hint of Eggy anywhere around. I couldn't tell whether she was glaring at me or trying to stare into my eyes, figuring out my next move. I followed my instinct and moved closer to her. She moved away and protested, but I was already lost in emotions. I stepped even closer and drew her toward me and kissed her passionately as she wrapped her arms around me.

* * *

The alarm buzzed and I jolted up from a deep sleep. I had just dreamt that I kissed Betty. In reality, I knew that would never happen. She was in Tucson with Henry while I was stuck running a sandwich shop. I looked at the red numbers; 6:30a.m. I realized at that moment that it was Sunday, and rolled back over to fall asleep.

"Gio, wake up!" my sister Antonella poked me annoyingly as I opened my eyes. The time was now 9:27a.m.

"Toni, can't you go back to sleep or something?" I begged, wanting an excuse to be left alone and sleep longer.

"Well Gio, that would be possible, however, we have things to do today. After all, you didn't agree to baby-sit for me this weekend for no reason. Well, you baby-sit me all the time. I live with you." She added impatiently.

I suddenly remembered what she was talking about and I suddenly sat up. "I completely forgot Toni! You've got that Harry Potter thing."

"Gio, Harry Potter is more than a thing!" Toni protested.

"Ah right…so what the woman's on like the 20th book by now? Has Harry died of old age? What's the power now…dementia?" I asked. Suddenly, I remembered that was a touchy subject by the look on my sister's face.

"Right, sorry Toni, I forgot. Look, let's grab a sandwich at my place before we see the movie. I would like to know what happens to Henry next." I replied subconsciously.

"Did you just call him Henry? You're not thinking of that dorky accounting number guy are you?" Toni caught my mistake as I opened the van door for her.

"Look, he and Betty are gone and out of my life now. He won." I admitted bitterly.

"You've got it bad for metal mouth. She was pretty cool from what I've seen. Bummer that you never had the nerve to steal her away from Number Nerd." Toni smiled.

"Toni, I'd rather not talk about that right now." I said, sounding defeated.

We rode the rest of the way through town and stopped in front of the deli. We entered into the closed shop. It was my decision to have the shop closed on a Sunday, to give my employees rest from a hectic day.

"You know, she seemed to be in pretty bad shape yesterday." Toni commented as she ate her sandwich.

"Well, she was moving the next day to Tucson, who could blame her." I defended Betty's behavior.

"She was acting more along the lines of someone breaking her heart."

"Toni….look… like I said…she is gone and I need to get over her." I sipped some Coke quietly.

The movie lasted a few hours. As I sat there wondering what was going on in the movie, I looked over at Toni who was laughing at certain parts. Poor girl. She had been through a lot in her early years.

There was a truth that I never told anyone. I came close to telling Betty once. When I held her close to me after she saved the day for Claire, I wanted to tell her the truth about me.

* * *

A few weeks passed and everyday I would look out of the window of my deli, hoping that I would see her pass by. Alas, she never did because she was in Tucson with Number Nerd. Toni's name for him was starting to catch on.

"You know, that no matter how long you look out of that window, she'll never come and pass by." I turned to the familiar voice and saw Daniel standing there.

"Daniel, I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in. How can I help you?" I answered, turning my attention from the window completely.

"I came in for the Vegan in Valhalla special. Renee wants me to watch my protein intake" Daniel said with a grin.

"Ah, I'll get right on that." I said as I wandered behind the counter and began fixing the sandwich. "So how are things are Mode?" I asked casually.

"Hectic. We're getting ready for a huge trip to Europe…Amanda is protecting that rat of a dog…Betty's depressed…my sister wears the pants in the company…" Daniel explained. I stopped listening to him listing everything once I heard her name.

"Wait, I thought Betty went to Tucson." I stopped him in mid sentence.

Daniel looked at me dumbfounded. "Didn't you hear? She was supposed to go away with him Friday a few weeks ago, but he completely left her. She tried to cover up her escape with a conference." Daniel informed me. No wonder Betty was in bad shape that night she hit the bars with Hilda. I suddenly pieced the missing parts together.

"Wait, so you're telling me that she's here…in New York…" I was still trying to put the pieces together.

"Yeah, she's doing better though. She still has his green box on her desk through." Daniel added as I looked up at the mention of the green box.

"How would you like for me to deliver this for you? After all, I'm sure you have plenty of things to do this afternoon." I began to smile.

"Sounds great, Gio. Just leave the sandwich with Betty." Daniel paid me and left._Score_, I thought to myself as I began to develop a plan of action.

I finished the sandwich 10 minutes later and wandered into the Mode office. I saw her immediately seated at her desk. She still looked pretty rough as I watched her from where I was standing.

"I knew I smelled mayonnaise" I turned to see Amanda walking by.

"How can you smell mayonnaise? There's nothing on this sandwich" I informed her.

"Please! With hips like mine, I've grown accustomed to recognizing the nasty smell. Just the smell can add 10 pounds." She sneered. She looked from me to Betty.

"You have that love sick look on your face every time you see her. It's the same look I get when I take a look at Brad Pitt." She mentioned as she walked away quickly.

I sighed as I watched Betty. I saw the green box on her desk, which brought a smile to my face. I promptly walked over to her with two sandwiches in my hand. At that exact moment she got up quickly and ran right into me.

"Oww….Gio!" she got up quickly, obviously surprised to see me. I picked up the sandwiches which had fallen onto the floor.

"Is this your usual greeting for me? Every time I meet up with you, you find a way to smack me around. If it's any consolation, I am a good boy…so you don't need to hit me to make me behave." I gave her a wink as I said that line. She had a look of disgust on her face.

"Eww…Gio….anyway, what brings you here?" she asked as she motioned me to follow her as she went on errands.

"Just delivering sandwiches. I thought I would bring you one too. I heard what Egg Salad did. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked curiously. She was walking rather quickly as I tried to keep up with her. We entered into the elevator.

"I just didn't think the news would mean anything to you."

I sighed. "He was an ass to you Betty."

"He did what he thought would be best." She answered, still trying to defend his honor.

"Whatever." I admitted bitterly as we stood in silence for a few moments.

"So why haven't you come to see me?" I asked her after a long moment of silence.

"I've been busy." She answered quickly. I took this opportunity to take control of the situation. I did what they always did in the movies when two people in an elevator needed to talk. I pressed the "stop" button. The elevator lurched to a stop and Betty immediately glared at me

"What are you doing?" she asked angrily and immediately began to pace.

"You're not claustrophobic or anything?" I asked in a worried tone.

"Only when you're in the room Gio!" Betty continued to pace, never making eye contact with me.

"Do you really hate me that much? I've never done anything to hurt you or anything."

"It's you alright and that….that…that stupid pickle shirt!" she pointed her index finger in my face and then looked at my "Gio's Deli" shirt with a pickle on it. She had now stopped pacing and was an inch away from me. This would be the moment in a movie where I would grab and kiss her.

"So you hate me because of my pickle shirt?" I missed a step somewhere.

"Yes!" she sighed and stepped away from me, breathing nervously. "Look, Gio…I really don't hate you. I've just got some things on my mind now that Henry left me."

I stepped closer to her and took this as a good opportunity. I grabbed her and stared at her fiery eyes. She was angry at me, most likely because I was being persistent. I didn't care. I was holding her so close and she was intoxicating to me. My mind took over and I promptly kissed her. Suddenly I got hit on the head.

"OOWW!" I rubbed my head and noticed that Betty had taken on of the sandwiches from my apron and hit me over the head with it.

"That's for kissing me!" she said angrily and hit the stop button. The elevator was in motion. We stood there staring at one another until the door opened. "I'm leaving. Gio…don't ever think about seeing me again!" she shouted as she walked out of the elevator.

"What? Was I that bad of a kisser?" I asked trying to bring humor into the situation. As she left, the smile on my face fell. Once again, I was defeated. I had no idea why she hated me so much. I wanted to tell her that I was the one that gave her the green box with the _Wicked_ items.

* * *

After what felt like hours, I made my way back to the deli and sat down at one of the tables with a cloudy expression on my face. Toni sat down next to me.

"You tried to kiss her, didn't you?" she asked. Toni always knew what I was thinking.

"Yeah, but she doesn't want to see me again." I admitted and sighed. I sat staring at the table with my fist resting on my mouth.

"Look, Aunt Giselle has that offer you know." Toni replied out of the blue.

"I told your parents I would look after you here and raise you here." I answered.

"My parents were pretty much your parents. What your real family did to you was horrible and my family…" she was going to finish, but I cut her off.

"So what about Aunt Giselle's offer?" I asked.

Toni smiled. "The arranged marriage for you. We would need to leave soon. I can miss some school for a while. What do you think?" she asked.

I sighed and thought long and hard. I honestly thought I was gaining momentum with Betty, but apparently she hated me now more than ever. "Look, Toni, give me the day to think about it. I'll let you know." I answered as she got up with her book bag.

"Oh and Gio…?" she said as she stopped in the doorway.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"If they were still alive, they would really appreciate what you've done for me." She smiled and left.

I sat in silence and thought about the offer from Aunt Giselle. It would involve me leaving New York and going to Italy for a while. The more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself that it was my next best option.


	8. Flight and Sight

_Dear Betty,_

I couldn't find the words to finish the apology letter I wanted to write to her. With Henry being gone, I thought that if I went ahead and made my move, she would fall head over heels for me. I was completely wrong. I chided myself softly as I balled up the paper and threw it in the garbage and sighed.

As much as I pretended to be, I wasn't much of a ladies man. Sure, I had that general persona. It was because I had been in relationships in the past and I knew what worked and what didn't. The last ended badly. Her name was Adrienne. She was hot and I got burned by her looks. It was then that I had decided not to go for looks alone. I found out that she was cheating on me with one of my best friends. Valiantly, I stepped aside.

"You alright, Gio?" my sister asked as she entered the room.

"The pain will go away. I'm nearly packed and ready to go. You?" I asked looking over toward her.

"Nearly. Our flight leaves tomorrow so I still have time. You're not writing a love letter to metal mouth mood swinger are you?" she asked curiously.

"I thought I would apologize for being so abrasive the other night. What's the use…right? She clearly told me off. I just want to tell her I'm leaving." I shrugged and stood up.

"Is is time to pull out the tiny violin? Gio, there will be plenty of young and beautiful Italian girls who know a real guy when they see him. Betty doesn't realize a good thing when she sees one." Toni paused and continued. "Besides, sitting next the Number Nerd made me realize something."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrow. This had to be interesting.

"Well when he was texting to Betty, I subtlety looked over at what he was typing. There was one text that wasn't for Betty. Do you know who some Charlie guy is?" Toni asked.

"Only by name. She got knocked up by Egg Salad, why?"

"Well Number Nerd was texting a person named Charlie. I didn't think much of it really."

"What did the text say?" I asked.

"Oh, he was angry about something. Most likely you. I couldn't read anymore because he got extremely pissed when you put your arm around Betty. That's when he commanded that Betty meet him outside." Toni fiddled with something on the table.

"It doesn't mean anything now. Egg Salad's gone and Betty has been acting strangely. Honestly, I'm glad that I'll be in Europe. It will give me the chance to get over her. Clearly, she hates me for unknown reasons." I wondered why she blew up at me in the elevator. Something inside of her made her snap even before I kissed her.

"What do you see in her anyway?" Toni had now turned on the TV and was flipping through channels.

I thought for a long moment before answering with a smile. "I don't know. She's just very passionate about what she does. I've never met someone with so much charisma and character. Whenever she smiles, she seems to light up the room. She doesn't care what people think of her and she is always willing to help people out. Her family is completely amazing and she's always there to save the day." I paused and continued, "at the same time she can be incredibly annoying, stubborn, somewhat the type to fill your brain with complicated thoughts. Yet, there is something about her that is intoxicating. I've never met anyone quite like her. It's like we could spend the whole day talking and I would only know 1/1,000,000th of the incredibly things about her." I finished by smiling to myself.

"Ugh, you've got it worse than I thought. Our trip to Italy better do something for your heart." Toni sighed and turned off the TV. "I hate it when there's nothing on TV. I'm off to bed." Toni yawned and left the room.

With the living room to myself, I sat back down and planned everything. I had someone to look over my deli while I was in Italy. Aunt Giselle was going to meet us at the airport. It had been a while since I had been to Italy. Last time I went, it was to get over a girl. There I met my new love, making food. I was always cooking for Aunt Giselle and she especially loved my sandwiches. She actually pulled a few strings to get my start as the sandwich guy at Mode.

The ride to the airport was fast. Getting through the airport wasn't an easy task. Due to security restraints, it took a few hours to get through JFK. Finally, I sighed as I sat down on the plane and closed my eyes. Immediately her face came to mind. I tried to drown it out by finding a magazine to read. I laughed aloud as I pulled an issue of Mode. I turned the remote on the seat's arm rest to a decent channel and watched the screen that was on back of the seat in front of me. It was a FashionTV update.

"Why does everything I pick up have to do with fashion?" I muttered to Toni.

"Maybe because we're going to Italy and some of the top designers come from Italy." Toni rolled her eyes and pulled out a book to read silently.

_This is going to be a long 10 hour flight_, I thought to myself as I closed my eyes again and drifted off to sleep. I awoke to minor turbulence a few hours later and one of the flight attendants tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir. Would you like anything to drink?" she asked politely. I looked at her name tag and my mouth hung open. Her name was Betty Solini. I couldn't help but laugh.

"No, I'm fine, thanks Betty." I grinned at her. She was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the Betty I knew. Here I was thinking about Betty again. I decided to snooze some more. I awoke abruptly as Toni hit me on the shoulder.

"What?" I asked sleepily.

"We're about to land."she informed me. Sure enough the 'fasten seatbelt' sign blinked on and people around us were preparing to land.

I stood up and my knees immediately began to kill me as the blood rushed to my legs. As we got off the plane, we were herded through hallways of travelers until we saw the familiar face of Aunt Giselle.

"Casa benvenuta! It's been so long." She kissed both of my cheeks and held them in her hand. "How is my Giovanni, eh?" she asked with a smile.

"Favoloso." I lied as I greeted her with kissing her on both cheeks. "I slept throughout the flight. It's nice to be home." I told her honestly.

The car ride to Aunt Giselle's took a while. While we rode in the car, she talked our heads off about everything happening in Italy. Mostly, she talked about how well her daughter was doing. I had really only met my cousin a few times. She was always busy with work and rarely there when I came to visit.

"Gio…" my aunt looked at me in through the rear view mirror. "What was her name?"

"Who's name?" I replied. She knew that the only reason I ever came to Italy was to get over a girl I had fallen in love with.

"Giovanni Rossi! You're not thinking like the Italian boy that's inside…Ah, we're known in this family for being romantics and tenacious for the things we want." she warned and eyed me suspiciously.

"Her name was Betty." I replied bitterly. I hated just mentioning her name.

"_Was_? Ay, Gio, you took her out didn't you! Playing at the Italian stereotype, nipote!" she sighed and pulled the small car into an alleyway and parked.

I grinned. People were always quick to assume that just because you're Italian you're a part of a mafia or mob. "Well, I had to do what I had to do. She knew too much!" I said with a fake Italian accent and shrugged with a grin.

"Come, you need some food…the both of you." Aunt Giselle guided us to her tiny little flat. Within an hour, she whipped up a wonderful Italian dish and I was full.

"Beats filling up on sandwiches…" I admitted and Toni nodded with a mouthful of pasta.

Tonight, I decided that I was going to go out and forget that Betty Suarez existed. I missed the nightlife of Italy, which was sometimes better than New York. I was never one much for he nightlife, but when the mood struck, I was there. I pulled on my leather jacket and wandered down a cobblestone street. I passed many bars that were full of people and finally stepped in to one that looked inviting. Amidst all the smoke and people, I felt like I was being sheltered and hidden from the world. My eyes wandered to scan the room for single girls. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes fell on a patch of wavy and untidy hair. _Betty_! I knew it had to be her and with a grin plastered on my forehead and walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"You just couldn't get enough of me. Looks like you decided to come back for more." I paused and continued, waiting to see her face. "By the way, the least you could have done would have been to fix up your hair for your lover." I grinned as she turned around. Immediately my face fell.

"Excuse me, but who the hell are you? You're one to talk. You're barely an inch above the ground." The girl smirked rudely at me. She was definitely not my Betty. She definitely noticed I wasn't the tallest tree in the forest.

"I'm so sorry." I admitted. I felt like a complete ass. I was shocked that the girl I spoke to knew English. She had a hint of an Italian accent as she glared at me. "I thought you were someone I knew." I shrugged and turned to leave.

"Hey…wait….I do think I know you…" she said as turned me around and looked into my face. "Yes, I definitely know you. You're the one I've been searching for my whole life. I'm Julianna Bruni, the girl you've been searching for your whole life." She kissed me on the cheek.

I looked at her in all of her confidence. I had to admit that she was fairly attractive. Suddenly, my thoughts that looks were no longer important to me went out of the window as we began to sway and dance to the slow music. I no longer thought of Betty.

* * *

It had now been three weeks since Henry left and I was definitely not feeling like myself. The only time I felt this out of control was when I tried on Claire Meade's perfume. This time, it was strictly a matter of the heart. Often, I thought about why I treated Gio so cruelly in the elevator. He had no right to kiss me like that. I sighed as Daniel came over, most likely to flood my mind with work.

"Betty, I have a job related question for you." Daniel was going to get right to the point. He looked slightly frustrated as he sighed and looked at me.

"What is it Daniel?" I asked, subconsciously playing with the pretty green box on my desk. There was something about the box that stopped me from throwing away what was given to me.

"I need you to run an errand for me. It's going to take a while. Are you up for it?" he asked.

"Daniel, you're not going to make me do anything gross, are you? If you've got a bet with Alexis, you need to do it yourself!" I chided him.

"No…no…nothing like that." He fiddled with something in his pocket and then pulled out an envelope and handed it to me.

"Great, you want me to finish your taxes. You know very well that the person for this job is..H…" I couldn't bring myself to finish his name.

"Just open the envelope!" Daniel insisted as he handed it to me. I was afraid of opening it that something gross or creepy would pop out or there would be a picture I didn't need to see. I sighed and opened it. My mouth fell open as I emptied the contents on my desk.

"Four…plane tickets…to Italy?" I looked up at Daniel for an explanation.

"Look, we're doing that major shoot and Italy and I couldn't go without you. After all, you are my assistant and I do need someone to tell me the names of all of those girls I meet…" he smiled.

"…but what about Renee?" I asked. He had already moved on and it wasn't even a month yet.

"I was joking, Betty. Look, you're the most level headed person I know and having you down there would mean so much to me. Plus, you could really use some time away from Mode. Ever since Henry left you've been acting strangely. Plus, once the sandwich guy came to deliver the sandwiches, you really weren't yourself. By the way...I never did get my sandwich..." He sat down on the desk and looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Why did you get the rest of my family tickets?" I asked

"We'll we're going to be there about a month. I know how much your family means to you. Plus, since I never had much of a normal family…yours has been very good to me." He said sadly.

"What about Justin's school?" I asked. As much as I knew Justin would drop out of school in a heartbeat for this opportunity, it worried me.

"Ever heard of mono?" Daniel grinned and gave me the thumbs up and left promptly.

"What was that all about?" Christina had come up behind me rather quickly.

"Oh, hey Christina…" I turned my swivel chair around. "Looks like my whole family's going to Italy." I sighed.

"Oh Betty, that's wonderful! You know…I'll be going too. What great times we'll have. Think of all of those hot sweaty Italian boys dancing up on you Betty because you're single. You can have all of the sexy bastards you want…" Christina stared off into space. Suddenly, I thought of Gio and sighed.

"Cristina, Sexy B..Gio kissed me in the Mode elevator last week." I finally admitted it to someone. She jerked her head back to look at me.

"You mean to tell me that Sexy Bastard bloody kissed you in the elevator and you didn't go at it in the elevator?...or did you?" she looked at me for confirmation.

"No…ugh…of course not! Eww…it was just weird. I suddenly snapped. He hit the stop button and so we were trapped in there together." I muttered.

"Now Betty, that's pretty hot. Oh, I haven't thought of his tomato-slicing hands like that in a long while….I'd better get a sandwich before I pee myself. Want to join?" she asked.

"Umm….sure…" I had no idea why I just agreed to go to Gio's with her.

We walked in silence the entire way there. I smiled as the familiar pickle greeted us as we entered. The bell rang and immediately one of the workers greeted us.

"Er, yes…is the owner around?" Christina asked immediately. I smacked her in the side.

"Actually, no. He's probably not going to be back for a while. He talked about some job he had to take care of. " the worker whispered to us. Then a grin was plastered on his face. "Kidding….really though…he's not here and talked about a wedding or something…" and the worker walked off.

"Wedding, you don't think it's his?" Christina asked me quietly.

"No, Gio wouldn't get married like that. He doesn't seem the marrying type." I said. I felt a surge of jealousy and slight disappointment that I wasn't able to see Gio. I lied with that last thought because it made me feel better knowing he wouldn't want to get married. I honestly had no idea if he was that type or not. Gio...

"Do you know when he'll be back?" I asked another worker.

"No telling with Gio…" the worker replied.

I sighed and turned to Christina. "I'm not very hungry anymore." I frowned and walked outside, waiting for Cristina to get her sandwich.

I had no idea why I felt so down all of a sudden. Truthfully, I wanted to see Gio. Suddenly, the kiss in the elevator didn't anger me as much. I was now angry because he didn't tell me he was leaving. I began to feel disappointed because he left me, just like Henry had. It was at that moment that I realized all the feelings I felt for Gio were because I felt something for him that I was too blinded by Henry to notice. I walked on, without Christina, feeling defeated. This was not love at first sight.


	9. Revenge of the Purple Squirrels

For years, I had always wanted to go to Europe and now I had the opportunity. Hilda made sure to have me fully prepared for any spontaneous nights out. I rolled my tongue over my teeth and smiled. My braces had come off a few days before we left for Italy. Now, I sat in one of the most powerful fashion cities in the world, Milan.

"Betty, did you contact that model I've been asking you about?" Daniel asked, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"Oh, um…no. I'll get right on that though." I said absentmindedly.

"Betty…are you sure things are alright with you? I thought being in Italy and around your family would get your mind off of Henry." He sat down at my desk and looked at me intently.

"It's not Henry." I said honestly. I had been down lately because I missed speaking with Gio. He gave me a thrill whenever we argued that was indescribable to anyone else.

"Betty, can I be honest…as a friend…not a boss…" Daniel hesitated and waited for my permission.

"Go ahead. You'll probably nag me until you're able to get out what you're trying to say." I sighed and waited for him to ask me about how his tie looked or what restaurant to go to that night.

"The sandwich guy has a thing for you." He said bluntly.

"No…I…what?" I asked, taken aback.

"Gio, you know, the sandwich guy. I've seen the way he looks at you." Daniel insisted.

"Gio…he doesn't like me. Anyway, I just find him…annoying…don't you?"

"Are you sure it's annoyance that you feel? Betty, I'm not the smartest guy in the world…"

"That's the truth…" I muttered.

"Will you let me finish?" he inquired.

"Fine, go ahead…"

"When we get back to New York, I really think you should move on with Gio. Think about all the times he has helped you out. You two have so much in common and Gio, well, I've noticed that whenever he's around you his mood changes. He knew that you would be at the celebration of my mother's exoneration. He asked to come, just to see you."

"He did not, Daniel. There was champagne. You know Gio…" I really had no idea where I was going with this statement. There was no reason I was trying to deny my feelings for Gio.

"Betty, I don't know Gio that well…really. You know him much better. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't wait for an opportunity to pass. If you want to be perceived as Casanova, you need to act like him and believe that you are him." Daniel grinned.

"Um, Daniel…you took that line from the movie, didn't you?" I smiled. "…but thanks. Sometimes, you can be pretty deep."

Daniel smiled. "I do what I can for a friend." He turned to return back to his temporary office and turned back to me. "Oh, and don't forget about calling the model. We need to set up an interview with her. Her name is Francesca and she has a good background story, from what I hear…let me know when you reach her…"

"Sure thing Daniel." I managed a smile as I watched him leave. I wiped my sweaty palms on my skirt and looked up the model's number and dialed.

"Caio." A smooth voice answered. I knew that was their telephone greeting. I knew very little Italian, so I just decided to say her name.

"Francesca." I uttered quickly.

"Un momento." The voice was that of a male. It was strange how familiar the voice seemed to be. I shrugged and waited for her to pick up.

"Questo è Francesca." She replied. Her voice was velvety and beautiful.

"Hi, um, my name is Betty and I work for Mode magazine. We're here for the big fashion show and we would like to interview you." I spit it all out in English and prayed she understood.

"Ay, Mode. Yes, I like to interview for Mode." She replied in the best English she could.

"My English…not very good…I have cousin from United States to help."

"Excellent. Can you meet tomorrow for lunch? How does 1 in the afternoon sound?" I asked. I had my pen ready to confirm her interview.

"No, I have better idea. Meet at 11 this evening at Gatto Matto." She said confidently.

"Um…" I thought for a moment and sighed. "Um…sure…I think we can arrange that. I look forward to meeting you Francesca." I confirmed our interview one more time and then hung up.

"Daniel, I got the interview. She wants to meet me at some Gatto Matto place…" I looked at him with a puzzled look as he came over to my desk.

"Hmm…Gatto Matto…hey isn't that a club?" he inquired.

"I don't know, but why would she choose to be interviewed in a club…?" By this point, I was incredibly confused.

"Just go Betty. Take Hilda or Christina with you." He suggested.

"Daniel, why do you want me to write this interview? I don't have much experience with anything like this." I said as I remembered the Phil Roth interview.

"Betty, I have faith in you. You have plenty of writing experience." He said and walked off.

"Yeah and the only one who ever encouraged me to write and follow what I actually wanted to do is gone." I muttered hopelessly as I began to type some interview questions.

"What's this about you talking to yourself now? Would have thought you weren't the type to start talking to yourself!" Christina had just stood in front of the desk.

"Oh hi Christina, what brings you over?" I looked up at her.

"Well, Daniel tells me I need to take you out for a hot night tonight. You up for it?" she asked with a smile. I cast a suspicious look at her baby bump.

"Christina, don't you think that it's not good for…well…you know…" I asked pointing to her slight bulge.

"Actually, if you'll follow me missy. For your information, Sexy Bastard isn't the only one who can keep a secret from others…" she said as she led me by the arm.

"Wait…Gio has a secret?...and you do too?" I was trying to piece together all of the information.

"Betty, how stupid are you? That Sexy Bastard is practically in love with you. You've been blinded by Number Nerd for way too long." She muttered as we now stood in the bathroom.

"How did you know that Henry has a new nickname?" I asked.

"Please Betty…nicknames catch on. No offense, but they had a few for you too when you first started working."

"Alright" I sighed. "What's your secret?" I asked her as she rose up her shirt and I gasped. "Christina…what is going on?"

She sighed. "I've been pretending to be pregnant for a while. Saw it on Desperate Housewives once. I'm about 4 months in now." She rubbed the padding where her fake baby bump was. "I miscarried 'bout a month ago. Evil Willy isn't going to give me the money until I actually give birth." Christina looked desperate.

"So, what are you going to do then?" I asked, feeling sorry for my friend.

"Betty…oh…I really don't know." She looked at me as if I had any answers, but I had none. We stood in silence.

"You know what the two of us need…a night out…just like you suggested. I've got to interview the model Francesca tonight at 11 at the Gatto Matto club. Would you be up for joining me…I'm planning on bringing Hilda along too." I suggested with a smile.

"What would a bloody club be without me? I've been dying for a drink for practically days." Christina got that look in her eyes as she thought about a nice drink.

"Christina, thanks." I paused and thought about something else. "What did Gio say about me?" I asked.

"What, Gio? He's never really said anything Betty, but haven't you ever seen the way he looks at you when you walk away? Well, guess you can't…but still. You've got a bit of something for him too." She admitted to me.

"I don't really want to think about him right now. I just really need to finish my interview questions and get ready. Good thing the model's cousin from the United States will be there to help with any English related problems."

"Well after I'm through pouring drinks down your throat, you'll need someone to help with your English too. See you tonight Betty." Christina beamed and strode away.

I worked on my interview questions for a few more hours until I decided to stop and meet up with my family for dinner. I wandered down the streets of Milan and took in the scene. We had been in Italy for two weeks right now, and I wasn't even missing home. I had my family with me and they were more important than anything else. As much as I hated to admit it, I was missing Henry a little. Sometimes, in the back of my mind, I hoped that the pregnancy would be a hoax and that he would be with me again. My feelings for Gio were starting to develop now. That was something I had completely blown with no chance of recovery. I sighed.

"Mia, how was work?" my dad asked as I entered the room.

"The usual. I get to interview a model tonight at a club. Which reminds me….Hilda?" I called for my sister.

"She went out shopping with Justin. They've been gone for a good 6 hours. You know Justin." My dad confirmed as I laughed and remembered how excited Justin was when he found out he'd be going to Milan.

"Right." I answered and sat down in an empty chair.

"Something wrong?" my dad asked as he sat down next to me.

"What did you think of Henry?" I asked him.

"Well…he was very nice." My dad answered a little too quickly.

"Honestly, dad!"

"He wasn't the best choice for you. I felt that he didn't treat you fairly and all those stupid decisions you made when you were around him was because of him. It's in the past now Betty." My dad hugged me. "You know who I really liked…out of all the guys you or your sister brought home…besides Santos…that Gio guy. Whatever happened to him?" my dad asked.

"It didn't work out between us." I answered without thinking.

"I thought it was Hilda that went on the date with him." My dad gave me a puzzled look. Before I could answer Hilda entered, followed by Justin.

"Papi, you'll never believe how much stuff my son made me buy for him." Hilda complained as she dropped her bags on the sofa.

"Ma, please. I have to have the latest sunglasses. It's the latest fashion and come on, please tell me I look like Mario Lopez." Justin grinned with his sunglasses.

"I'd say more like Screech." I cut in and smiled.

"Very funny, Aunt Betty." Justin hopped over to the TV to catch the latest fashion buzz.

"Hilda…would you like to go to Gatto Matto with Christina and me tonight?" I asked.

"Ooo, I heard some hot Italian guy talking about Gatto Matto, so sure. What's the occasion?" she asked.

"I've got to interview some model who only wants to be interviewed in a club." I grumbled.

"Well good thing you've got me to fix you up. We are going to hook up with the hottest guys and by the end of the night there will be men begging for your number." Hilda wandered off.

After a few hours we were dressed and ready to go. We met up with Christina right outside the club and wandered in together.

"Oh, there's the bar. We can go ahead and get started!" Christina said excitedly as she raced over to get us some good seats.

"Should your friend be drinking?" Hilda asked. I took the next minute to explain the situation and we met Christina.

"Oi! We would like whatever gets us wasted the fastest." Christina yelled over the crowd. The guy looked at her for a minute, trying to take in her words. Then, he set right to work.

"Christina, you know he probably doesn't know any English." I informed her.

"Please Betty. He can tell whenever someone wants to come in here just to get wasted. There's no language barrier when it come to drinking." She said as the guy came back with a glass of something I had never seen.

"Cheers!" Christina held her glass up as the three of us toasted and drank the strange liquid. Immediately, I felt the liquid ease its way down my throat. In another 5 minutes, I felt its effects.

"What is this stuff? I feel great!" I said, already feeling relaxed.

"You probably don't want to know." Hilda warned. "Do you have those interview questions?" she asked.

"Um….nope!" I said with a smile. I had completely forgotten to bring them and I looked at my watch that read 11:00p.m. It surprised me how little I cared. I scanned the area for a beautiful woman to come wandering into the room. Suddenly, I froze. I heard a song playing, 'Unbreak my Heart'. Immediately I thought of Gio.

"So do you even know what this model looks like?" Christina asked as she slurred her words. I looked over and noticed that she was on her 3rd drink already.

"Nope…but shhhh….shhh….they're playing a song that I really like!" I giggled and began to sing along. Whatever was in this drink had really fast effects.

"Betty, what has gotten into you? You've only had one of these drinks and you're already gone. Plus, you've still got to interview that model!" Hilda glanced over at me.

"I feel fine!" I reassured her and began to giggle. "I'll have….another…these are good…what's in this?" I asked the bartender.

"You don't want to know." He said with a smile with an Italian accent and went to make the drink

"Um, Excuse me….Mode?" I heard someone inquire behind us and I turned around.

"Yes, this is Mode. I'm Betty, the one you are here to interview with. How did you know it was us?" I asked with a stupid grin.

"I've seen her clothes and her on TV." She pointed at Christina, but Christina wasn't paying any attention. He was ordering another drink.

"Alright, well, we can…um…find a table to interview at." I offered, looking around the room.

"Yes, sure, but here comes my cousin." She pointed in the direction of a large crowd and the person that popped out of the crowd made my heart skip a beat. I stood up to get a better look. Once he saw me, he stopped right where he was and took a good look. Finally, he reached us. I tried to find my seat back on the stool, but I completely missed it and fell flat on the floor and began laughing.

"Gio." I muttered.

"You alright?" he asked as he offered his hand for me. I was reluctant at first, but took it. Instead of pulling myself up, I pulled him down with me and whispered.

"Gio…Gio….shhh…they're playing our favorite song." I continued to laugh uncontrollably.

Gio just stared at me. He looked completely confused that I was here. "I..I didn't expect to see you here." He finally said.

"That's because the purple squirrels brought me here…you can hear our song though…right?" I had no filter tonight.

"Purple squirrels or Mode? Yes, I can hear the song. Which by the way you can't sing much better when you're drunk." He smiled. "Let's get you up." He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up and onto a stool.

"Purple squirrels ring a bell to any of you ladies?" Gio asked Christina and Hilda.

"No." Christina said as Hilda shrugged.

"Gio, what are you doing here?" Hilda asked him.

"I….would like to know the answer to THAT question….too…." I giggled again as I held two fingers up.

"Francesca is my cousin and she told me that she needed me to help translate. I wasn't going out with Julianna tonight, so I thought I would come along." He grinned and sipped his drink.

A thought struck me suddenly. "Daniel…." I muttered and grabbed the new drink from the bartender's hand. "He knew…this whole time…"

"Betty, your teeth. You got your braces off." Gio noted.

"Someone's observant." I said sarcastically.

"Calm down. I just thought you might like to know that someone noticed…" It seemed like he wanted to say more, but he stopped.

"Christina…did you know about this? That he would be here…sandwich guy." I asked. "Sorry….I can't say your nickname Gio…but it's a secret." I put my finger to my lips.

"Oh alright. I knew. Daniel knew that Francesca's last name was Rossi and he did some research. He made it known to me that Francesca had a mutual friend who is Gio." He took a big gulp of her drink and watched us.

"I knew the purple squirrels were in on it!" I exclaimed with a laugh and suddenly felt sick. "I don't feel so well…revenge of the purple squirrels…I'll need to tell someone about that…" and then I blanked out on the table.


	10. Surprise Engagement

A soft gentle breeze blew from the ocean and it made my hair blow in the wind. I could feel the warm sand sift between my toes. Suddenly, someone ran up behind me and held me tight to him. He placed a drink into my hand and I smiled as I turned to face him. His dark hair shone in the sunlight and his smile nearly took my breath away. His usual leather jacket was not needed because it was so hot and as he placed his arms around me, I thought that his bare arms were better than the feeling of a leather jacket. He suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me closer to the ocean. He loved being adventurous. I smiled and followed him willingly. Suddenly a giant 100 foot purple squirrel emerged from the water.

"Gio…" I called to him, even though he was right beside me. He didn't hear me.

"GIO!" I repeated louder. He still didn't respond.

Suddenly, I awoke with a start. _It was just a dream_.

"This seems to be a pattern with you." A voice called to me in the dark. I opened my eyes to see the beaming face of Gio looking down on me.

"What…?" I asked, as I sat up.

"You never struck me as the type to blow off work for a few drinks and then start talking about purple squirrels." He grinned.

"Purple…squirrels? I don't know what you're talking about. How did you know a purple squirrel was in my dream of us being at the beach?" I asked.

He smiled more broadly, like he enjoyed hearing what I just said. "So you've been dreaming of me! Now, tell me…what happened in this dream of yours?" he asked with a wink.

"Can you ever go a day without thinking something dirty?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Who said anything about being dirty? Purple squirrels were your topic of conversation last night." He laughed.

"No, I dreamed of a purple squirrel coming out of the water. We were at some beach…" I tried to finish my sentence, but he cut me off.

"See! You did have a steamy dream about me. Those beach dream sequences can get pretty…" he explained and it was my turn to cut him off.

"Spare me, please!" I groaned.

"All I'm saying is that you had a dream about me. I think I once saw an adult film with two people at the beach…" He said and then mumbled something inaudibly that sounded something like, "That's always a first step to winning a girl's heart…"

"What?" I asked. He waved me off.

"So I heard that you were coming to Italy for an arranged marriage." I said casually.

He seemed amused. "Yeah, my cousin Francesca is marrying some guy from Sicily. What, you didn't think that I was the one getting married?" he seemed hopeful that I would be jealous.

"Of course not! Why would I care if you got married?" I asked, trying not to sound like I cared.

"Because secretly…deep…deep…deep down you're in love with me!" he said as he sat on a table.

I didn't answer him immediately. Instead, I looked around for the first time and realized we were where my family was staying.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Hangover sitting…" he smiled.

"I do not have a hangover." I lied.

"Please, anyone who talks about purple squirrels right before they black out and have had two drinks nicknamed 'Italian Poison' would have one." He paused. "…Interesting night last night. Anyway, your family went out for lunch without you."

"LUNCH?!" I looked at the clock and sure enough it was a little after noon. I groaned mainly because I was hungry.

"Look, so my little eater doesn't miss any meals…why don't you and I find a café or someplace." He suggested.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked wryly.

"Why won't you answer my question?" he asked quickly.

"Why are you asking me about a question when you didn't ask me any questions?" I argued back.

"Why are we even arguing about this? Besides, your last question made no sense. Now, that means that you need some food. Come on….I won't take 'no' for an answer." He persisted.

"Fine. At least you'll leave me alone." I grumbled as I led the way out the door.

"You know, you can be cute when you're mad at me!" he said casually as we sat outside in a café.

"Well for your benefit, I'm mad at you all the time." I bit hungrily into my sandwich.

"I can take that." He commented reflectively.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I griped.

"At least you're talking to me now. Once Egg Salad left, you went all crazy and then I never saw you again." He said somberly.

"Gio." All I could say was his name. I wanted to say more and apologize for ditching him in the elevator.

"Eat." He ordered. I watched him as I finished my sandwich. He seemed to be really distant during our lunch. I felt bad for some reason because his mind was elsewhere.

"So your cousin is getting married then…" I said to break the silence.

"Yep." He responded and stared off into space again.

The waiter came over to us suddenly. "A little wine for the couple. Compliments of the couple sitting across the way." He said as he poured us some wine. I looked over at an elderly couple that raised their glass to us. I couldn't believe it wasn't even 1 in the afternoon and I was about to drink wine.

"Oh, we're not a couple…" I noted to the waiter.

"…because we're actually engaged." Gio cut in and put his arm around me happily. "She's my fiancé and doesn't like the word 'couple'." Gio grinned.

"What are you doing?" I mouthed to him. I tried to pry myself away from him. As much as I was in denial, I enjoyed having his arms around me.

"Trust me." He whispered as I rolled my eyes.

"Ah, well for the little lovebirds, I have a special place for the two of you tonight." The waiter leaned down and whispered something in Gio's ear.

"Sounds great." He said as the waiter wandered off. Gio quickly scribbled something down on some paper and gave it to me.

"What is this address for?" I asked, looking at an address with quick directions to the location..

"Just meet me there tonight. I've got to take care of something right now." He said with a smile.

"Look, I'm not pretending to be your fiancé…" I began hotly.

"You're breaking up with me…here?" he said dramatically. Several people looked over at us. "I can't believe that you're breaking off our engagement." He continued as I blushed. Then he said to me,"Betty, where's your sense of adventure?" he asked with a gleam in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, I left it in the club last night." I said dryly.

"Just do what I say." He got up and put some money on the table. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"No." I said bluntly. "For all I know, I could go to this place and you'll be waiting to murder me or something." I was letting my imagination go.

"Murder you? Betty, are you still being affected by the 'Italian Poison'?" he looked worried.

"I was joking. Fine…I'll meet you at this place. Only because…"

"You're secretly and passionately in love with me." He answered with a smile.

"Yes, that's exactly it." I said sarcastically.

"See you later, Betty." He got within an inch of me and looked at me intently. I felt a sudden jolt of electricity between, like the many times we were close to one another.

"Don't…push…your…luck." I said, pushing myself away from his close proximity. He frowned and began to walk away.

"Bring something for the cold weather." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

I held his paper tight in my hand as the waiter came up to me. "You're lucky to have a fiancé like him." He said.

"Yeah, I am…" I said without thinking as I watched Gio leave. I took a look at the address written on the paper and found myself smiling.

As I walked back to my room, I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to interview Francesca and have the interview ready today. My thoughts of Gio literally made me forget about work. I suddenly turned and ran straight for our temporary office.

"Betty…" Daniel greeted me as I sat down, out of breath.

"Not now Daniel…I need to do something." I held my hand up for him to leave me alone.

"I hope you're not about to start on that interview." Daniel advised.

"No, because it's already finished." I answered, hoping he would leave.

"Betty Suarez, you're lying to me!" Daniel had a stupid grin plastered on his face. He has gotten better about telling when I'm lying.

"It's not what you think…" I protested.

"Betty, I know you didn't get that interview." He sighed. "I know because I set you up to meet Francesca in order to see Gio."

"What?" I replied, taken aback. "How…how did you know that …Daniel…that was uncalled for. You lied to me!" I said angrily.

"Betty, he's been a really good friend to you. I thought you could use him now." Daniel looked at me curiously. I appreciated it when he taught me a lesson every once in awhile.

"Look Daniel, I really need to figure things out on my own. I really appreciate what you're doing, but please stay out of this. I'm being cautious. I know what I'm doing."

Daniel sighed. "If you say so. I trust you Betty." Daniel smiled and walked away.

I sat at my desk and wondered what Gio was up to tonight. He refused to tell me why we pretended to be engaged. It had something to do with whatever he had planned. I finished up a few last minute emails at the office and headed back to see my family before I went off to meet Gio.

"Interesting night, mija?" my dad inquired as I entered the room, even though it seemed he already knew about the night.

"Yeah. Thanks for leaving me alone with Gio!" I said sarcastically.

"Ay, Betty he was worried about you. You need to be nicer to Gio." Hilda warned as she handed me some water.

"What's this doing on my bed?" I asked as I picked up a drawing of a purple squirrel.

"Gio brought it by, Aunt Betty. He said he thought he would give you something in remembrance of last night. Apparently, you kept talking about purple squirrels and laughing." Justin laughed and opened up a book and read.

"I don't remember anything about purple squirrels." I turned to Hilda looking for an explanation.

"Last night…after you had two drinks, all you could talk about was something about purple squirrels. You put Latinas to shame when you can't even hold your alcohol very well." Hilda began to fold some clothes.

"Oh." I replied and stared at the picture Gio had drawn. He wasn't too much of an artist either. "So Gio stopped by?" I asked looking up at Hilda.

"Yeah, you must have been at work. It wasn't too long ago. Anyway, what's up with Gio? He didn't look like his normal self." Hilda looked at me, trying to read my mind.

"Gio?" I asked curiously. "I haven't noticed any difference. Anyway, I'm meeting him tonight." I added quickly. "You know, there are so many places in Italy I need to see."

"Wait…un momento…Gio is doing something with you tonight? Like a date?" Hilda eyed me with a smile. Justin had put the book down and was all ears as well as my dad.

"It's nothing. He just has something cool to show me…or something…" I explained.

Hilda turned to Justin. "Cover your ears Justin." Justin immediately followed his mother's directions.

"Betty, when a boy wants to show you something cool…"she began to warn me.

"It's not like that. Trust me. It's not a date…I promise…" I protested.

"Ay, I hope he has something romantic planned. I remember when he was fixing my sink and he went on and on about the things he would do with a woman." Hilda looked into space.

"Hilda, it's ok. There's nothing romantic about Gio…this is just between friends." I said as I looked at my watch. "Ok, I have an hour to get ready…if you'll excuse me." I said as I left.

"Betty doesn't get ready for just friends…" I could hear Hilda say as I was in the bathroom.

As I got ready, my heart has pattering wildly against my chest. This is going to be nothing, I thought to myself. I had no idea why I was so nervous. I took out the sheet Gio gave me and looked at the address curiously. I knew where the place was, but it stuck me as odd that we would be meeting there. I shrugged and looked at myself in the mirror. I hadn't revealed my true feelings for Gio to anyone, but I wondered why everyone seemed to realize it without me even saying anything. I took one last look in the mirror and smiled.

"Alright, I'm leaving. See you later." I said over my shoulder. My family waved and returned their attention to the TV. As I walked into the hall, Hilda followed me.

"Betty…" she said my name, which made me turn to her. "Don't hurt him." She said quietly.

"Hurt him…why would I hurt him?" I asked.

"Look, you like him. You may not have revealed that to anyone, but I can tell. I may not have been the smartest in our school…but I can tell when two people in love look into each other's eyes. They're lost in one another. Just…don't do anything to hurt him. He's a good guy." She smiled and hugged me.

"How did you know?" I asked, curious to know why she figured it out.

"The way you look at him. It's as if right after you want to have a fight, you want to grab him and kiss him. I had that with Santos. I miss him Betty…so don't pass up another opportunity for love. I know I told you the same with Henry…but…Gio's different and here now…for you." She opened the door and smiled before retreating behind the door.

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment and then walked out into the streets. I kept glancing at the address on the slip of paper. Every second passed and I wanted to talk myself out of what I was doing. Finally, I compared the address on the slip of paper, to the building I found myself in front of. They both matched. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Typical." I muttered angrily. He's probably watching me on some hidden camera and laughing at me. I stood there for a few more moments and suddenly I heard music from the heavens. Wait, it was coming from the roof. I walked around the building until I found the fire escape and began to slowly climb it. Once I reached the top, my jaw dropped and I felt like crying.


	11. Rendevouz in the Rain

"I knew you would make it. Thanks for coming!" Gio beamed at me and showed me around. He had spent a lot of time decorating the rooftop and it looked like he spent an equal amount of time preparing food.

"Wow…Gio…this is incredible." I continued to walk around and take in the scene.

"Thought we could eat dinner under the stars…not in a romantic way…of course." Gio said cautiously.

"No one's ever done this for me." I said honestly and I quickly pinched myself to make sure this was really happening.

"You mean Henry never did this for you?" Gio looked both surprised and amused as he lit some candles at a table and motioned for me to follow him to a table.

"No, he didn't." I sighed and changed the subject. "So how did you cut a deal with the waiter through us being engaged?" I inquired as he poured a glass of wine and I began to sip and listen.

"Oh that…the engagement part was nothing. He's actually my cousin and it was a joke. I just thought adding a fake engagement would be more…" he searched for the right word.

"Romantic?" I suggested, a little too hopeful. Despite the fact that he kissed me in the elevator, I really didn't know how he felt about me. I always assumed that he kissed me on a dare or something. Sometimes, in the movies when people worked really close together they had a heated moment, but that was all.

"I guess…" he trailed off and grabbed a bowl of salad and put some on the salad plate in front of me. "Eat." He ordered.

I smiled and began to eat the salad. I wasn't used to being treated so nicely by Gio, but it was a nice change from our usual arguments. He had a certain excitement in his personality tonight. I had to admit that I felt somewhat excited as well.

"Mmm...Gio this salad is amazing. Here I thought you were only good at one thing." I smiled as I swallowed another bite.

"…And what would that one thing be?" he asked with a wink. Surprisingly, I wasn't grossed out by his normal innuendo.

"Sandwiches of course." I answered, taking another bite of the salad.

"Well you haven't tasted anything until you try my chicken specialty dish." He said as he glanced up nervously at the sky.

"What's up?" I asked staring up at the sky with him. I looked over to him and he looked slightly worried.

"Well it's not going to be a starry night as I had hoped. Clouds are moving in." he frowned.

"Gio…it's alright." I reassured him. "So are you going to keep dinner waiting?" I asked with a smile.

"Right….I forgot…you're an eater." He walked over to the table with the food and brought back a silver dish and sat down, after serving me first.

"Wow…Gio…you surprise me yet again. Here I thought all you could fix were sandwiches. Has anyone ever told you how amazing your food is?" I asked, incredibly impressed.

"A few times…" he smiled at me and stared across the table.

"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked with my mouth full. He laughed at me.

"Yeah, I just want this moment to last a little while longer." He sighed and took a sip of wine. I gave him a quizzical look and he continued. "We're always fighting like cats and dogs…and this is the first time we haven't started off with a fight." He smiled.

"Oh, well…if you want to start a fight, I could always insult your chicken." I suggested.

"No, this is fine…trust me." he smiled and reached over the table with his hand out stretched. My heart began to patter against my chest and my sweaty hand came up from my lap to join his. Right when I was an inch from touching him, I heard a sound of thunder, which made me jolt my hand back in fear. As luck would have it, I spilled the wine all over my lap.

"Oh…no…" I mumbled, getting up quickly and searching for a napkin. I looked over at Gio, who was searching too.

"Uh, Betty, we've got a bit of a problem…" he looked over at me.

"Gio…you forgot to get napkins…didn't you?" I asked as he nodded.

"I was hoping we could use our lips as napkins for our mouths rather than waste paper products." he informed me in a tone I wasn't sure how to take. I just watched him quietly instead.

"Gio, it's alright." I said right when a bolt of lightning struck across the sky followed five seconds later by thunder. We watched each other for a moment, not really sure how to respond to one another. We weren't used to being alone under the given circumstances.

"Look, this was poor planning on my part." He said as he took a step closer to me. My feet refused to move from the spot I was standing. He inched cautiously toward me, like he was afraid of getting too close. He pulled me close, but before he could do anything, the sky opened up and poured rain. He quickly withdrew.

"Quick…follow me." he said as he made his way to the fire escape.

"…but Gio…what about all of the stuff up here?" I motioned to the beautiful meal he provided.

"Don't worry about it, Betty…just trust me." he said as he descended the fire escape.

I looked down to make sure he wasn't still on the ladder and began to descend myself. As I climbed down the ladder, I could feel my feet slipping against the wet metal. I was a foot away from the ground when it happened. As safe as I was trying to be, my feet gave way and I slipped, Gio barely caught me.

"Alright Happy Feet….take your time now." He smiled as he helped me stand up on my two feet.

"Oww…there's something wrong with my foot." It hurt to wiggle or move it.

"Here, lean up against me. Let's get you someplace warm and day." He supported my weight as I hobbled with him. We ended up going to the place where he was staying, which was conveniently not too far away. We entered the front door and were immediately greeted by 3 worried faces. I recognized 2 of them.

"Hey brace face, can't hold a glass of wine?" Gio's sister greeted me in a joking manner. I noticed Gio give her a meaningful look as he guided me to a sofa. He began to take off my shoe.

"No! Don't…I can do it." I insisted as he raised his hands defensively and backed off. "'Sorry…I…I just don't like people looking at my feet." I managed a smile and cringed as I painfully slipped my shoe off. I looked at my ankle, which was bruising up to the size of a bullfrog.

"That looks pretty bad." Gio said. I looked up at him and his concerned family watched me intently.

"Just a little ice…I'll be fine." I said. I looked over and saw Francesca and managed a smile. Then, I saw another woman whom I had never met before.

"Hello…I'm Giovanni's aunt, Giselle. I have heard much about you." She said extending her hand to me.

"Thank you." I said. Gio left quickly and returned with a bag of ice wrapped in a kitchen towel.

"I happen to like feet," he said as he ignored my attempts to doctor my own ankle. I sighed and gave up trying to protect him from touching my foot. Daniel told me once that his father had a thing for feet, which made me laugh as Gio gently placed the twoel with ice on my ankle. My foot popped up reflexively as the cold sensation hit my nerves. I smacked Gio in the chin with my foot.

"Sorry." I whispered, completely embarrassing myself.

"No problem." He muttered as he found a stool to prop my foot up. "Keep it elevated." He insisted, as he sat next to me and fell into silence. We sat there uncomfortably as his aunt chatter happily about Gio's childhood. Every once in awhile I would steal a glance at him and grin.

"You went to NYU?" I asked curiously. "I never perceived you as intelligent." I joked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Sometimes, Aunt Giselle gives too much information." He gave a look to his aunt and she smiled.

"We are just of proud of our little Giovanni!" she got up and pinched his cheek before leaving the room.

"Um…Gio…it's kind of late and my ankle feels better. I should go." I insisted as I got up.

"I'll take you home." He got up immediately. "We've got a little moped and it would be easier than walking." He helped me up as I limped a little with his support.

"It was nice to see you guys again….Francesca…Antonella…and Giselle nice to meet you." I said politely before leaving with Gio.

"Look, I'm really sorry about how tonight turned out." Gio apologized again as we rode back to where my family was staying. "How much longer are you here for?" he asked.

"A week. "I said sadly. "You?"

"Three more weeks. Francesca's wedding is at the end of next week and I am going to stay with Aunt Giselle another week so she doesn't feel the empty nest syndrome too badly." He informed me as we stopped in front of where I was staying.

"As much as you might not believe me, I had a really nice time tonight." I smiled as he helped me off the moped.

"Anytime." He paused reflectively. "What are you doing tomorrow night? We could try something again." He suggested hopefully.

"I'm completely free. Just no rain!" I said with a smile.

"That's because the green girl would melt." He joked. A realization suddenly hit me after he said that.

"Gio…it was you who gave me the green box with _Wicked_ items wasn't it?" I inquired, feeling stupid in the process.

He nodded. "Took you long enough." He smiled and the only thing I could do was hug him. I couldn't believe that all this time it wasn't Henry's gift, but it was Gio all along.

"Thank you, seriously." I waved as I began to approach the front door.

"Do you need me to walk you in?" he offered. I shook my head and smiled. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran smack into the front door.

"I hope you don't think of me when you're driving." He said with a grin. I could feel the heat moving into my cheeks from the embarrassment.

"That would explain the road rage." I joked and opened the door. "Goodnight." I smiled and closed the door. Everything was working out perfectly. I limped to the elevator and pushed the button for the floor we were staying on. I couldn't help but smile because despite the fact that the night ended horribly, I had spent it with Gio, which made everything worthwhile.

"I'm back!" I announced as I entered loudly. " Hilda, you were right….spending time with Gio was a nice change. I think we're…" I stopped dead in my tracks as everyone was watching me.

"What?" I asked nervously. Hilda pointed to the bathroom and I heard someone flush the toilet and the door opened.

"Betty, is that you?" the all too familiar voice asked as the owner of the voice emerged from the bathroom.

I gasped in horror as I laid eyes on him. My night had been so perfect and so right and then this had to happen. I stared at him for a good five minutes and was completely speechless. I looked to my dad and sister, who were both speechless. Justin's jaw looked detached from his mouth as the visitor beamed at me. I suddenly grew very uncomfortable.

"Henry…" I said softly, suddenly remembering every emotion I had ever felt toward him.


	12. Catch22

Recap: Sorry it's been awhile guys…so to refresh your memories…Betty is in Italy for a work related trip and Gio is here at the same time. Gio planned a romantic evening for Betty, but things don't go according to plan. Now…someone is back!

"Henry, what are you doing here?" I looked bewildered as I asked him. He was smiling, but I didn't return the smile, merely because I was confused.

"Well, I wonder if you can talk in private. Out on the patio alright?" he cocked his head to the patio and I lead the way, without a word.

"I'm going to give you one minute. It won't make much difference, but being the person I am, you get the chance." I frowned and waited for him.

"Ok…where to begin…after I went to Tucson, I thought things would be better. For a while, they were and Charlie and I were able to focus on the baby. Well, about a month after I was there Charlie was getting some suspicious phone calls regarding the baby. I come to find out that it's not mine." He grinned when he finally announced that part. "Betty, do you understand what that means?"

"Oh what? I guess that means that you didn't sleep with Charlie then." I said sarcastically.

"Of course I did. Anyway, what does it matter? Charlie was my girlfriend."

"But you were leading me on! You didn't tell me until after the fact that I had met her. That's why this is a big deal." I grumbled and looked out onto the night's scene.

"What I'm saying, is that Charlie lied to me in order to keep me away from you. Betty, I am still in love with you." He came close to me and tried to kiss me, but I backed away and quickly made my way inside and then slammed the glass door in his face and locked it.

"Ha, how do you like being left now Henry?" I laughed darkly and then turned to my family.

"Betty, mija….what are you doing?" dad asked with a raised eyebrow.

"OMG…I saw this same exact scene in Days of Our Lives. I think Sami was mad at Lucas and she locked him on the balcony. He ended up falling five stories and surviving. Then again, that's not real life" Justin casually said.

"Fine!" I mumbled and looked through the glass at Henry. "Talk!" I proclaimed through the glass.

"Look Betty, I'm sorry for leaving you the way that I did. At the time, I thought it was for the best. I wanted you to move on and hate me." he looked sadly at me and inched closer to the glass.

"Henry, I waited for a few weeks. I moped around hoping that you would call and tell me that it was a mistake. I've been waiting for this moment, but that was over a month ago that I gave up on you." I shook my head, feeling disappointed in Henry. "So, what else do you have to say to me?"

"Well, can I come in first? It's really cold and a drunk Italian couple next door are laughing at me." Henry informed me.

"Right, well…I guess that's alright. You'd better be prepared to speak in front of my entire family because they're not leaving." I unlocked the door and let him in. He cautiously looked around and smiled slightly at Hilda, but she didn't return the smile.

"This is getting good papi. I guess we don't have to order a movie after all." Hilda sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Ok, so Charlie lied to you and you're back because…?" I was collecting the information he had been feeding to me.

"…because I love you. Wait…before you go off on me again…let me say one more thing." Henry seemed to struggle with the words and something in his pocket.

"Ok fine. What is it?" I rolled my eyes impatiently and shifted my weight.

"Betty, you know that I love you. I remember the first time I saw you in the butterfly costume and we talked about random facts. I've never met anyone like you before in my life." He pulled out a ring box.

"Put that back into your pocket!" I demanded bitterly and slightly out of breath.

"Betty…" he continued as my heart skipped about 20 beats. "I know that I've been a complete ass to you lately, but I've changed. I love you and I can make you incredibly happy. When you're happy, you have a certain smile than when you're pretending to be happy. It's just something I know." He paused and looked at me. "Will you marry me?" He opened the box and there a sparkling ring sat.

"Wha…what?" I stammered.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you Betty. I swear to never leave you again. I'm just asking you to take a chance with your heart." He smiled up at me as he was on bended knee.

"Henry, I really don't know what to say. This is an incredibly big deal." I blushed and looked over at my speechless family. I had to admit to myself that I hoped one day for Henry to propose, but circumstances were different now.

"Henry, could you give Betty a night to think about it?" my dad cut in amidst the silence.

"Sure Mr. Suarez. Goodnight Betty. I'm staying at the Marriott down the street." Henry kissed me on the cheek and left. I stood there for a few minutes in silence.

"Well Betty?" Hilda looked at me and shrugged. "You have to admit that he came all this way so he must really love you." She suggested. I didn't understand where she was coming from. She was the one who pushed me first to be with Walter and then with Henry and finally Gio.

"I…I think I need a few minutes of fresh air." I didn't even look at them as I left. This felt like the longest ten minutes of my life. It was hard for me to express any feelings that I felt for Henry. A part of me wanted to say yes, because I did believe that he loved me and I understood why he had to leave me. Yet, at the same time, the other Betty wanted me to hold a grudge against it. It was that Betty that was mad at Henry because him leaving made me realize my feelings for Gio. I contemplated these thoughts as I walked through the hotel's gardens. The trees were lit up and pretty as I sat on a bench and looked at my reflection.

"I can't believe that a night with me has made you this depressed." Gio said suddenly as he sat down beside me. I had been thinking too hard for me to realize that he had come up behind me. I quickly wiped my eyes.

"Hey…Gio…how did you know I was here?" I asked sadly.

"I saw you heading for the gardens so I followed you. You dropped this." He held his hand out and in his hand he held my B necklace.

"Thanks." I said quickly as I took it and placed it around my neck.

"You know that Anne Boleyn had a necklace just like this." Gio informed me.

"Yeah, right before the love of her life had her beheaded." I managed to laugh a little at the thought of that.

"I see that corporal punishment is humorous to you. I'll keep that in mind." Gio smiled and I could see from the reflection in the water that he was looking at me.

"Hey…Betty…is everything all right?" he asked, looking slightly worried. He grabbed my hand slowly, trying to be respectful of my feelings.

"Henry's back." I answered and looked up at him, trying to read his expression. I still held on to his hand, and was surprised that he didn't let go.

"Oh, and what does Egg Salad want?" he looked slightly frustrated.

"Well, he came back to tell me that he loved me and that…uh..." I trailed off, not wanting to hurt Gio with the rest of the news. "And…he sort of proposed to me." I looked over at him and his face was concentrating hard on a thought.

"You seem confused." He looked at me, but didn't smile.

"I am. I wasn't expecting this to happen. I feel like I'm missing a step somewhere and somehow something isn't making any sense. Somehow the facts just don't match up."

"Catch-22" Gio mumbled.

"How can you think about a book right now?" I demanded.

"No, I meant the situation is sort of a catch-22." He replied.

"Right…I guess if you think about it like that. I just don't know what to do, Gio." He suddenly let go of my hand and stood up quickly.

"So you're thinking of taking his offer then and agreeing to marry him? After everything that he has put you through. Wow, you are being stupid. Here, I thought you were beginning to wise up and grow some balls, but no…you run straight to Henry." Gio said bitterly, without even looking at me.

"That's not true. There's just a lot to think about, Gio. I thought you respected my feelings enough and so I trusted in you as I told you about Henry. Just because I don't know what to do, doesn't mean that I am going to marry him." I insisted as Gio began to walk away.

"Betty, it's hard for me to stand by and watch this happen…come back when you have more sense." Gio looked at me and walked away. All I wanted to do was crawl into a hole and stay there for a long time. The next thought that crossed my mind was to escape back to New York. I would be alone, which would give me time to think. I decided to head back to the room and write a letter to both Gio and Henry. Henry's was pretty easy to write, but Gio's…it was hard. I knew that writing the truth would hurt him, but I had to patch things up with myself first and take care of Betty before I took care of Betty's problems. I ran straight to the front desk.

"Can you see that Giovanni Rossi gets this letter?" I gave the concierge the addressed letter and he nodded.

"What is up with you Betty?" Hilda caught up with me in the elevator.

"I don't know anymore Hil." I shrugged as she hugged me. "I need some time to think. I have written both Henry and Gio letters and giving them both the answers they have been looking for. I've decided to go back to New York early. I know we have a week left, but I'm tired of being here already."

"I understand. Sometimes we all need a little time to ourselves." Hilda smiled.

I packed for the next hour and filled my dad and Justin in with my decision to leave early. Fortunately, my dad was supportive of the decision. I just needed to give both guys their space and me a little time to decide. Although my letters to both guys made it clear as to my feelings for the both of them, I felt that I needed to leave. As I left, I dropped off Henry's letter at the front desk.

At the airport, I managed to book a red eye flight to New York. By now, Henry would be getting his letter from me. Now he would know how it feels. As for Gio, I had no idea how he would respond. I admitted everything, but I wasn't sure if that would be enough. As I stood in line for coffee, I thought of Gio and the butterflies were flying around in my stomach. It was at that point, that I knew whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I suddenly looked at my watch and realized how much time I had let slip by.

"Please, I'm sorry, but I only have 20 minutes until my flight leaves…can I get to the front of the line?" I asked the security guard breathlessly as I made it to security. He laughed and shook his head. Ten minutes later I was running through the airport and more importantly, trying to find my gate. With five minutes to spare, I found it.

"Hi…here." I handed the flight attendant my boarding pass.

"Just in time. We were just about to close the door to the gate." She smiled at me as I made my way onto the plane. My knees went weak from running and I fell on a creepy greasy man in first class who grinned and said something in Russian. I forced a smile and apologized before trying to find my seat.

I waited as people were placing luggage into the overhead compartments and I kept edging toward the back on the plane. I glanced down at my boarding pass and sighed because I was nowhere near my aisle. Finally, I found it after waiting as a woman grabbed her wandering toddler. Without looking at my seat, I crammed my carryon bag into the overhead compartment. I grew frustrated as I shoved the awkward bag into the compartment. "Haha…stupid bag!" I said aloud as I closed the overhead compartment. I glanced at the person next to my seat, who was reading a paper. I fastened my seatbelt and waited patiently until we took off. I was nervous about flying and the person next to me seemed to be aware of this.

"I'm alright." I said to the newspaper person.

"Hmm." He replied.

"Flying makes me feel like….woa….haha….well….it makes me feel a little nervous. I don't even normally talk to strangers like this. Oh, am I annoying you newspaper guy?"

"Which section of the paper would you like?" he placed the newspaper down and grinned.

"Gio?" I was suppressing the urge to get excited that he was there. "What are you doing here?"

"All's fair in love and war. Now that I stand a chance, the tables have turned between Eggy and me. I'm determined to fight. I'm determined to be tenacious…like a bulldog. So, what section of the paper would you like?" he insisted.

"Living." I answered quickly and once I placed the paper in front of my face, I drew a wide smile that I had been holding in all night.

TBC…


	13. Despite the Odds

Betty couldn't help but smile for the next hour as she watched Gio sleeping on the next seat over. She knew she had made the right choice. It was time for her to move on and grow up and Gio was just the guy to help her reach some of her goals. She watched as Gio slowly woke up.

"How can you manage to sleep on a plane?" Betty asked as Gio sat up and smiled at her.

"Do you know how much energy it took me to beat you to the plane? I'm not as knight in shining armor-ish as I used to be." He winked at her and put his arm around her.

"I won't hold it against you." Betty sighed. "You won…after all."

"What did Henry's note say exactly?" Gio asked curiously.

"Well, I told him that a part of me would always love him. It's the truth honestly. Besides Walter, he was unfailingly kind to me. I told him that I had to make up my mind and that it involved you. I had to do what was best for the Betty who's in the now and not the Betty I was then. This is for the best." Betty sighed and leaned over and ruffled Gio's hair.

"Hey! It's bad enough that I've been reading the magazine in a language I don't understand and now you mess up my hair." Gio frowned and reached for Betty's glasses and took them off. To Betty's surprise, he snapped them in half.

"What was that for?" Betty asked angrily.

"Change is inevitable. We'll get you contacts." Gio said simply, but managed a sly grin.

"So this is how you treat the girl you like?" Betty smiled.

"I don't like you, Betty. I adore you…I love you. I get the benefit of loving you first." Gio nodded.

"Henry and Walter loved me."

"Between you and me though…I felt something for you way before you felt something for me." Gio winked.

"You did not! I have never in my life flirted with the sandwich cart boy."

"..and all for a damn tomato. I still win." Gio said defiantly.

"I can't believe we're arguing over who fell for who first. This is completely ridiculous and now…look people are starting to watch us argue!" Betty looked over at several people glancing over at them.

"I agree. We should make up. We could always go and make sure the bathroom doors lock properly." Gio winked.

"Yeah but why would both of us…" Betty stopped mid sentence finally understanding what Gio meant and rolled her eyes.

"So what made you come back to New York and not stay for your sister's wedding?" Betty asked.

"Well, your note. Plus, she'll probably be divorced to this guy within a year." Gio paused. "Your note really made me think though. I think if I would have let you get on this plane by yourself, you might have done something incredibly stupid and I didn't want to lose you. I had a fighting chance with you. When Giovanni Rossi learns that he's got a fighting chance with a woman, he doesn't back down." Gio grabbed a lock of Betty's hair and kissed her.

"Well…you're very convincing." Betty smiled as Gio pulled out of their kiss.

The plane finally landed and Betty got up to stretch her legs and fell over on a heavyset man, who immediately got angry because his carry-on spilled everywhere.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, girl!" the angry man replied. "You know pal, you should focus on getting rid of the eyebrows before you take a ride on that train." The angry man mentioned to Gio. Gio defensively stood up to the man.

"Do you honestly want to start something with me? You have a mess to clean up guy!" Gio motioned to the spilled suitcase.

"Yeah? Well because Godzilla spilled all my belongings." The man laughed at his own joke. Gio did not find it funny in the slightest. Instead, he grabbed the man by the collar.

"HELP! HELP! I'm being attacked!" the man cried out as the flight attendants came and pulled Gio off the man. Betty, embarrassed, followed as they took Gio away.

A few hours later, Betty found herself in an isolation room with Gio.

"Gio…is our time together always going to involve this sort of stuff?" Betty asked, with a bit of hesitation in her voice.

"Well, we do have the room to ourselves." Gio stepped closer to Betty. "I was protecting you. That guy was a jerk." Gio sat down in a chair. Betty hesitated for a moment and sat down next to Gio.

"For what it's worth, thanks. No one has ever been taken into custody for me before. It's actually kind of sexy." Betty admitted with a smile.

"Maybe I should fight with people on planes more often." Gio suggested.

"Being on the Homeland Security's list of most wanted is exactly where I want to see your name." Betty said sarcastically. "I guess I could always go back to Henry…" Betty laughed.

"Why would you want to do that when you're number one on my list of most wanted?" Gio informed her. Betty couldn't help but melt at Gio's words.

"Who's number two?"She inched closer to Gio.

"It's a one number list." Gio said simply.

"Yeah…but a list means that there's more than one…" Betty sighed.

"You're under a very unique list." Gio held Betty's hand in his. "Don't tell your dad about this little incident I got us into." Gio smiled.

"Despite the odds, Gio, you have managed to win my heart." Betty sat on Gio's lap.

"This was the hardest game I've ever played." He kissed Betty. "…but the most worthwhile".

The End! Sorry that the last part sounded a bit like a trashy romance novel! 


End file.
